Our Philosophy

Our philosophy is probably best told with a true story…

The problem was, how were we to travel to Paris with our 6 year old daughter, Anna, and actually enjoy a worthwhile visit to the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay? You see, I love art museums, have always loved art museums, and wanted my daughter to love, not loathe, art museums. But the Louvre is really, really big - especially for a little one. I decided to shoot for a FUN experience. At home, I pulled out some books, visited websites, and drew from my knowledge of art to make a custom book (a binder really) on my home computer. I designed activities that would have Anna really looking and thinking about what she was seeing, so that it wasn't a simple "treasure hunt" or checklist of "I found it" busy work. She had to figure out some challenging (for a 6 year old) concepts that would have to make her observe. Then, before we made the overseas flight, I had Anna flip through the book to get her familiar with the art, the challenges, and the activities that were to come. I also packed up "his and hers" sketch books. (I always travel with a sketch book).

All I really had hoped for is that we might get lucky enough to squeak in a couple hours of quality museum time before her interest waned. I was wrong. I got far more than I expected - the book was a huge hit. She loved to find a piece illustrated in her book, plant herself on the floor only feet in front of the masterwork, then spent a lot of time with the activities. Anna loved talking to us about what she was seeing, and wrote plenty of notes too. The hours passed and we found ourselves spending the entire day at the Louvre working out of her book, and pulling out our sketchbooks. The story repeated itself at the Musée d'Orsay, and we even went back for another half day at the Louvre. But I am saving the most remarkable part of the story for last…

While that book enabled my daughter to enjoy learning about art in a museum space, it was the reaction of other museum visitors that we found most interesting. Countless times, visitors would walk up to an artwork, look at it, then look down at what Anna was so engrossed in. In fact, many found themselves so curious about what Anna was doing, they asked where we had purchased the book. They wanted one too - and they were amazed to find that we had created it from scratch. I have a wonderful memory of watching a tour group of elderly women who were all looking at Anna instead of Louis XIV. We had Japanese, Dutch, German, American and French visitors ask us over and over where we had obtained the book. We simply were flattered and enjoyed the positive dialogue with so many international visitors.

A year later, we still could not let go of the memory of that experience. We thought we ought to make books for children to visit museums. Then the idea struck, "Why not make animated guides to teach children about art directly in an art museum?" After 22 years in the feature film industry creating visual effects and animation, it was time to follow a dream and passion - teach as many children about art as I could using my skills and talents as a film-maker. Combining film-making experience with the best educational consulting we could find, we formed what is now "GeeGuides." And the lessons learned at the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay still hold as a solid foundation of what we are addressing:

Many parents are not comfortable explaining art since they do not have enough formal knowledge to provide meaningful "teaching" - which is why Anna's book looked so appealing to adults.
Families desperately want a positive experience in art museums, especially if it is something they can do together.
Museums can be perceived as boring to some kids - we see it all the time. Parents watching us having fun in the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay was liberating to them.
Kids love art, but they don't know how to really look deep into artwork by themselves. Without a little working knowledge, the art is simply pretty or it's not pretty.
Kids make little association with a master's artwork and the artwork they create. I showed Anna that she could apply exactly what Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Georges de La Tour did hundreds of years ago in her own artwork.

If you take these themes from our practical experience, you have what embodies the mission, spirit and philosophy of GeeGuides - beautiful art, creative play, and learning together.

I thank you for your interest in GeeGuides and I hope that you join the path in teaching art to our next generation.

Eric Guaglione
GeeGuides Founder