All Ages Artmaking: Buttons with a Message
Sun, Aug 10, 2025
11 am–4 pm
Installation view of Marina Zurkow: Parting Worlds (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 9, 2025-January 11, 2026). Mesocosm (Wink, TX), 2012. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Tickets
Though admission is free, tickets are required and capacity is limited. Advance tickets are recommended.
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Floor 5 Terrace
Open to all ages
Artists of all ages are invited to join us on the Floor 5 terrace to create a button with a message inspired by Mesocosm (Wink, Texas), an animated artwork by Marina Zurkow that explores the impact of human activity on the natural world.
Zurkow’s artwork is based on a real sinkhole in Wink, Texas. The sinkhole, an area of collapsed earth, is ever-growing and exists on land owned by an oil company. The animation follows the desert landscape over a 24-hour period as it shifts from a quiet daytime scene to a bubbling, polluted sinkhole at night. Hand-drawn animals, oil refineries, hazmat workers, and swirling plastic bags appear in this dynamic, ever-changing scene. The artwork is controlled by software that ensures no two viewings are the same.
After experiencing the artwork, reflect on a place, animal, or part of nature that you care about. Then, create a button with an inspiring message using words, images, or symbols. When you're ready, Whitney educators will help you turn your design into a real button to wear for all to see!
