Carnegie Museum of Art holiday specials include Presepio, trees, new activities
Holiday happenings at the Carnegie Museum of Art include the return of two visitor favorites, along with activities and events presented for the first time this year.
The Neapolitan Presepio, first presented in 1957, will have a new home this year in the Scaife galleries, while the Carnegie Trees, commemorating 60 years, will be showcased as usual in the Hall of Architecture.
“For the first time, the Neapolitan Presepio will be surrounded by art in context, so viewers will have the opportunity to see it in its artistic tradition and time period and history,” said Dana Bishop-Root, the museum’s director of education and public programs. Docents also will offer drop-in art chats.
The museum’s Women’s Committee will present five 18-foot Fraser fir trees adorned in handmade ornaments reflecting the theme, “Bedazzled.”
The presepio and the decorated trees will be available for viewing starting Nov. 20 to coincide with the kickoff of seasonal activities, including a Friends & Family Photo Studio, Gift-Making Workshop, Out of Office Party and Sounds for the Season live musical performances.
The idea is to offer the Oakland facility at 4400 Forbes Ave. to “the many people who celebrate different holidays in different ways, or don’t celebrate at all but are still looking for things to do during the holiday season,” Bishop-Root said.
“It’s a large space and there are many ways of accessing the art and activities,” she said. “We want people to think of the museum as a destination. The activities are designed to encourage visitors to spend a whole day.”
For example, two sessions of the Out of Office Party are imagined as “an office party/mixer mashup. It’s a way for different organizations from around the area to meet with colleagues, friends and new friends, and also as a new way to network.
“It was informed by the pandemic, when offices were not able to be together,” Bishop-Root added.
Registration begins Nov. 1 for events and programs including:
Art Chat: Neapolitan Presepio
Docents will discuss the elaborate nativity scene arranged in a detailed panorama of 18th-century Italian life. Handmade by artists in the Royal Court of Naples between 1700 and 1830, the display includes more than 100 miniature humans, animals, angelic figures and architectural elements.
For the first time, the presepio is exhibited in proximity to pre-Raphaelite masterpieces in the collection, contextualizing the artwork as it would have been in 19th-century Naples.
Paid museum visitors can drop in on the chats, set for 6-7:30 p.m. Thursdays and 10:30 a.m.-noon and 1-2:30 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 20-Jan. 10.
Carnegie Trees
Since 1961, the annual installation and decoration of the Carnegie Trees has been the signature event of the museum’s Women’s Committee. Each year the trees are decorated with ornaments handmade by the committee, celebrating a different theme, ranging from “Great Cities of History” to “Beloved Children’s Book Characters.”
The trees will be on view Nov. 20-Jan. 10.
Friends & Family Photo Studio
Select a spot within the museum for a group portrait taken by a local professional photographer. Maximum is six participants per session. Registrants wanting more than six people in their photos must sign up for two sessions in a row to ensure enough time is allotted. Three photos will be provided for participants’ exclusive use and printing.
The 45-minute sessions will be available 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Nov. 20-Dec. 19. Masks are required but can be removed while photographer is snapping photos. Fee of $75 includes museum admission for up to four people.
Gift-Making Workshop
Join the museum’s artist educators in the Hall of Architecture to create a gift inspired by artworks in the collection.
Workshops will run 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Nov. 27-Dec. 19. After registering online, participants can drop in any time during workshop hours to make their gift.
Each $35 registration provides one gift, hot chocolate, holiday cookies and museum admission.
Out of Office Party
Guests 21 and older can enjoy light bites, drinks including holiday punch, music by DJs, a photo booth and pop-up performances among the Carnegie Trees. Masks are required, except while eating or drinking.
Whole office and individual registrations are available. Fee of $35 per person, or $315 for group of 10, includes two drinks per person, appetizers and museum admission.
Sounds for the Season
Live musical performances at 1:30 and 3 p.m. will include River City Brass Band, Nov. 27; Roger Humphries and RH Factor, Dec. 4; Mount Ararat Baptist Church Choir, Dec. 11; and Hugo Cruz and the Caminos, Dec. 18.
No registration is needed; concerts are free with museum admission.
Holiday shopping
The Carnegie Museum of Art Store and Custom Prints Store will offer in-person and online seasonal holiday promotions, including the new Collection Handbook published on the occasion of the 125th anniversary. The book features images of more than 200 works from the collection, including previously unpublished archival materials, and essays revealing the stories behind the works’ creation and acquisition.
Custom prints will be discounted Nov. 15-30.
For more information and to register for activities and programs, visit cmoa.org.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.