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Back in 2021, our exhibits team began to dream about creating a brand-new indoor winter experience. They asked themselves, “What if a group of enchanted animals hosted a carnival every winter? What would that look like?”
These questions sparked their creativity and they spent years dreaming, creating, planning, and building a new immersive, magical, and captivating world—WinterFaire. This enchanted indoor exhibit features a festive, carnival-like atmosphere, fun-filled games, loveable critters, and hands-on activities. You can play, laugh, and make lasting family memories together inside WinterFaire every winter!
Real-world inspiration
One of the things that makes state fairs, county fairs, and similar festivals such a memorable experience is the local artisans who have the opportunity to show off their creativity. There are baking competitions, fashion revues, craft shows, art displays, and a whole host of other artisan categories for creators to share their handiwork. It’s inspiring to see what your neighbors can create!
It’s with this spirit of creative expression that our exhibit team created the Artisans Corner inside WinterFaire. In the Artisans Corner, Gerty, the resident master woodworker and no-nonsense beaver, runs a space to display a variety of crafts and creations from around the world. Through pretend-play, you can help Gerty run the Artisans Shop inside Artisans Corner. Gerty is also a judge in the WinterFaire artisan competitions.
Concept rendering of Artisans Corner inside WinterFaire.
Our exhibit curator also used the Artisans Corner inside WinterFaire to highlight artistic creations that reflect winter celebrations around the world. We invited four artists to create a piece of art inspired by a winter holiday they celebrate.
In Gerty’s Artisans Corner, you can be inspired by the work of these artists:
Vaishali Rastogi Sahni
Vaishali is a paper sculptor. She rolls thin strips of paper around a quilling needle. Then she shapes and glues the strips together to create a 3-D sculpture.
Her piece in the Community Cases in WinterFaire’s Artisans Corner is inspired by Diwali—the Hindu festival celebrating the triumph of light over dark, of good over evil. Her creation features Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, money, and richness, perched on a lotus flower. Ganesha, the god of wisdom and intelligence and the remover of obstacles, sits on Mushak, a mouse.
“(Lakshmi and Ganesha) remind us that wealth becomes useful and a blessing only when one has the intelligence and wisdom to use it…I admire the fact that each year, (Diwali) comes as a reminder to imbibe the powerful message it holds.”—Vaishali
Sofiya Inger
Sofiya works with paint, pastels, and textiles. She used a dyeing method—called batik—on a piece of silk to create the menorah, food items, and other symbols in her composition.
Her favorite part of Hanukkah—the Jewish festival of lights celebrating the rededication of the Temple—is food. So it is understandable that traditional Jewish fare—such as potato latkes, challah bread, and matzo ball soup—is featured in her composition.
“The food is unifying no matter your culture. It shows that we are human and have the same wishes.”—Sofiya
Gary Gee
Gary is a painter and sculptor, creating works on canvas and ceramics. He often uses nontraditional substances and a mix of different media.
Gary celebrated his first Kwanzaa—a celebration of family, community, and African American culture—a few years ago at The Children’s Museum. He created a live painting while Portia Jackson told a story and Brother Amoah played the drums. Umoja, or unity, was the principle of that day.
That scene and day are captured in Gary’s ceramic sculpture, featuring traditional Kwanzaa colors and symbols for each of the seven Kwanzaa principles. The piece is designed to represent unity among people.
“I felt a sense of pride. It was a great day. The word I keep coming back to is energy. I’m an energy person. It was a good energy that day.”—Gary
Juan G. Tiscareño
Juan draws, paints, and works in mixed media as an artist.
When he was growing up in Mexico, his grandmother’s tiny home acted as headquarters for his large family’s celebration of Las Posadas—a Christmas celebration in Latin American countries that commemorates Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Fond memories of past Las Posadas festivities inspired Juan’s miniature model of his grandmother’s house on display in the Artisans Corner.
“There were so many of us, we were spilling out into the street. (My grandma) loved the neighbors too, so she invited them to celebrate with the family.”—Juan
Get creative in the WinterFaire Artisans Corner
Gerty is ready for you to visit the Artisans Corner inside WinterFaire. The exhibit is open through Feb. 11, 2024. WinterSlide is open through Jan. 7, 2024. Both are included with museum admission. Buy your museum tickets online in advance and save!
