Scientific American calls it the “best science museum in the world.” And since it’s beginning in 1974, The Exploratorium has hosted an artist-in-residence. The Exploratorium is a playground for thinking and asking questions. And some of my favorite artists, like Nina Katchadourian, Harrell Fletcher, and Tim Hawkinson, have made work here. More importantly, they made work at the Exploratorium that is just as critical and compelling as their work for art institutions like MoMA. It’s difficult to show children ambitious art in a playful way or in a setting that plays the way they do. The Exploratorium is a standard in lines between contemporary art and children.

One of the current artists-in-residence Zarouhie Abdalian makes subtle installations that draw our attention to boundaries, like the line between individual and public space. I saw her work in Nola after our visit to City Park.  Her feature on The Art Assignment connects her work to both Minimalism and Institutional Critique. But it has just as much to do with how you play and work. The other current artists-in-residence inlcude Nina Katchadourian, Ilana Halperin, and Rosten Woo.