Artists Magazine - USA (2020-04)

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located outdoors in the Donald J. Hall
Sculpture Park. It was conceived by
local designers, architects and other
individuals whose ideas were chosen
from 75 proposals.
Each hole of the course presents
a novel interpretation of a work of art
in the museum’s collection, allowing
visitors to participate in a fun outdoor
activity while also learning more about
a piece they’d perhaps overlooked or
while re-engaging with a well-known
favorite from a new perspective.
Offered in conjunction with the golf
course is a self-guided scavenger hunt
through the museum that leads players
on a search for the art that inspired
the design they encountered outdoors.
“We wanted our visitors to experi-
ence masterpieces from our collection
in an entirely new way,” says Casey
Claps, the Nelson-Atkins manager of
strategic initiatives and the project
lead for Art Course. “The incredible
number of players who went on the
scavenger hunt inside the museum
shows us that there’s a desire to learn
about the original works after playing
mini-golf. Our collection offers so
much variety for visitors, and this is
something we’re excited to build on
for the second year of Art Course.”
Originally slated to shut down at the
end of last summer after a four-month

run,accesstoArtCoursewasextended

throughOctober 14 duetothepos-

itiveresponsefromthepublic.“Art

Coursesucceededbeyondourwildest

imagination,”saysJuliánZugazagoitia,

theCEOanddirectoroftheNelson-

Atkins.“Theresponsefromthepublic

hasbeenoverwhelminglypositive,and

it’sverygratifyingtowatchfamilies,

childrenandgroupsoffriendsengag-

ingwiththeartinnewways.”

ArtCourseis set to continue in

2020,andthis past fall the museum

requested,through an online submis-

sionprocess,new design proposals

fromartists,designers and other indi-

vidualslooking to offer a new spin on

oneofthemajor works or objects in

themuseum’sextensivecollection.

Allison Malafronte is an arts and design

writer, editor and curator based in the

greater New York area.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ART

COURSE DESIGNS AND DESIGNERS, VISIT

NELSON-ATKINS.ORG/ART-COURSE-DESIGN.

ABOVE

Hole 8: The

Mischievous

Dragon,

designed by Kelly

Batcheller-Mummey,

was inspired by Vase

(Chinese; 1426–35)

PHOTO BY DONNA DURYEE

RIGHT

Hole 9:

Nelson-Atkins

Campus,

designed by Lee

Ernst, was inspired

by the grounds of

the Nelson-Atkins

with its four-part

sculpture

Shuttlecocks by

Claes Oldenburg and

Coosje van Bruggen.

PHOTO BY DANA

ANDERSON

Hole 4: Rose With Gray, designed by

John Glessner, was inspired by the painting

Rose With Gray by Vasily Kandinsky.

PHOTO BY DONNA DURYEE

Hole 9

approach

ramp

PHOTO BY PATTI

COFFMAN