August 15, 2017

Meet a Community Art Star: Pilar Wong

"Meet a Community Art Star" is a regular feature showcasing ArtStarts' amazing group of volunteers who are passionate, enthusiastic arts champions. Read more posts in this series.

Pilar Wong has been volunteering with ArtStarts since 2015. Full of imagination and ideas, Pilar always brings her keen interest in the arts and her deep knowledge of galleries and museums to all the projects she works on at ArtStarts.

Hi Pilar! Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I'm a museum educator with a deep love for learning. Through travel, explorations and adventures, spending time in nature, and crafting, I am constantly learning about myself and the world around me. ​I'm currently working on a very large and overly complicated quilt that is long past its due date and a series of self-guided museum tours for family visitors.

From what you’ve observed working at the Museum of Anthropology as well as the ArtStarts Gallery, how do you think families benefit from visiting museums and galleries?

​Exploring together as a family or group is a wonderful way to deepen bonds, share experiences and learn about each other. Museums and galleries are intrinsically places of learning where visitors can choose their own adventures.

Where did art start for you? Do you remember a specific moment when you were a kid?

​I remember very specifically going to see Madam Butterfly with my mom and sister when I was young. I got in trouble because I was so enthralled with the ceiling of the ​opera house that I wasn't watching the show!

My mom also always had projects and crafts to keep my sister and me busy when we weren't in school. At a young age, I learned the immense gratification and enjoyment of creating something with my own hands.

What is your definition of creativity?

​I like to think of creativity as the process of getting yourself unstuck. Creativity emerges and blossoms when there are limits or parameters to what you're able to do in a given situation or process.

How does your own creativity influence your day-to-day life?

​I like to think of myself as an excellent problem solver and ideator. My creativity definitely fuels these skills and allows me to work outside of prescribed boundaries.​

Can you tell us about a favourite moment you've had so far volunteering at ArtStarts?

To celebrate Family Day, Gallery Manager Juliana Bedoya and I worked to establish a collaboration between ArtStarts in Schools and the Museum of Anthropology. We brought an ArtStarts touring performance group, Axé Capoiera, to MOA in connection with the exhibition Amazonia: The Rights of Nature. In addition, MOA set up a pop-up exhibition at the ArtStarts Gallery aligned with the exhibition, Common Ground. It was such a fun weekend full of laughter and learning new things.

Thanks, Pilar!

If you're interested in volunteering with ArtStarts, learn more about current opportunities at artstarts.com/volunteer

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