Norton Museum expands Family Autism Art Workshops

Children and museum staff display artwork created during a Family Autism Art Workshop. [Photo by Elizabeth Palace Photography]

The Norton Museum of Art set out three years ago to create a place where children with autism and their families could experience art together. Now the museum is doubling the number of free Family Autism Art Workshops to meet the growing demand.

Beginning in September, the museum will expand from once a month to twice monthly.

“We’re always trying to think of ways to increase our access for the public,” says Quincy Bruckerhoff, Norton’s director of public programs. “Our autism program is definitely the most successful and most popular of our programs.”

The workshops have grown from a few sessions a year into a monthly program that often has a waiting list.

“It really came from the museum seeing a need and wanting to be a welcoming space for everyone to come and enjoy art and also to be able to enjoy the kind of socializing and being together that every human needs to have,” Bruckerhoff says.

The experience begins before families walk through the museum’s doors: Families receive a social narrative before each workshop so children know what to expect. 

Norton Museum of Art’s Family Autism Art Workshop. [Photo by Elizabeth Palace Photography]

During the program, children explore artwork in the galleries, then create their own projects in the classroom. Quiet rooms, headphones, fidget toys and sensory backpacks are available, and museum staff and security officers receive sensory-awareness training.

“We’re ready for it,” Bruckerhoff says. “We understand that sometimes it’s challenging or the kids get overstimulated, but it’s OK.”

Every detail is designed to help families spend less time worrying and more time enjoying art.

Sometimes the greatest successes happen gradually.

Family Autism Art Workshop at the Norton Museum of Art. [Photo by Elizabeth Palace Photography]

One young girl arrived extremely shy. She rarely spoke, avoided interacting with staff and showed little interest in creating art. But as she attended more workshops, the staff noticed small but meaningful changes.

“She was using words with us. She’s comfortable with us, and she’s actually engaging in making a work of art,” Bruckerhoff says. “It was really exciting for everyone who’s been at these workshops repeatedly over time to see her blossom. She was really enjoying herself and really engaging in a way that she hadn’t three or four workshops ago.”

Beyond the children’s workshops, the Norton is expanding programming for adults with autism, developing workshops for people living with dementia, and continuing programs for veterans, visitors who are blind and other groups. To support those efforts, the museum is hiring a full-time access program coordinator.

“I’m actively working to build out this branch so we can make the museum more and more accessible,” Bruckerhoff says.

Families also can attend the Norton’s next Sensory Friendly Sunday on July 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The museum will open an hour early for a quieter experience before regular visitors arrive. Activities include art projects, an interactive drum circle, a silent disco and sensory accommodations. Registration is encouraged but not required.

Participants share paint at the Family Autism Art Workshop. [Photo by Elizabeth Palace Photography]

The next Family Autism Art Workshop will be July 26, with sessions at 1 and 3 p.m. Families are encouraged to register early or join the waiting list if the sessions are full.

Above all, Bruckerhoff hopes families leave with more than a piece of artwork.

“I hope they talk about how much fun they had,” she says. “Hopefully they’re talking about how they want to come back and do it again. We want them to know they’re always welcome here.”

For more information about the autism workshops, visit the museum’s Family Autism Art Workshop page.