Symbolic Languages: Children's Understandings of the Collection

Children sit around a table coloring with colored pencils. Works of art hang on the walls and a father engages with his child at the table.

January 18 - May 11, 2025

How do children perceive, interpret, and evaluate works of art? Presented in partnership with the Rollins College Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center (CDC), Symbolic Languages: Children’s Understandings of the Collection is the museum’s first exhibition collaboratively curated with children ages 2 to 5 enrolled in the CDC’s laboratory preschool. Informed by the Reggio Emilia principle that children use “one hundred languages” to construct and communicate their understanding of the world, Symbolic Languages features various interpretive approaches that demonstrate how the child curators appreciated and were inspired by works from the collection, including those by Elizabeth Catlett, Chuck Close, Gregory Gillespie, and David Stern. In addition to showcasing the children’s responses, the exhibition is the culmination of a research study by the CDC’s leadership, whose findings are published in a freely available, exhibition booklet that also includes an essay chronicling the CDC’s fifty-year history.

The exhibition was collaboratively curated by RMA’s Associate Curator of Education David Matteson, the CDC’s Executive Director Dr. Alice Davidson and Director Diane Terorde-Doyle, and 30 preschool children.

Exhibition Tour

March 28 | 11am Join David Matteson, Associate Curator of Education, and Dr. Alice Davidson, Executive Director of the Hume House Child Development and Student Research Center at Rollins College for a tour of Symbolic Languages: Children's Understandings of the Collection.

Arte Y Café Con La Curadora

18 de marzo | March 18, 2025 | 6pm

Acompaña a la Dra. Gisela Carbonell, Directora Interina y Curadora, para recorridos guiados en español. Café y pastelillitos provistos por nuestro auspiciador Café Don Juan.

Supplemental Exhibition Materials

Abstract yellow circle with squiggle yellow lines around the circle. Inside the yellow circle reads the text "Symbolic Languages: Children's Understanding of the Collection"

Exhibition Booklet | Symbolic Languages: Children's Understandings of the Collection

This exhibition booklet includes an introduction by Rollins Museum of Art Associate Curator of Education, David Matteson, works from our permanent collection, and essays by Alice Davidson, Ph.D., Executive Director Hume House, Child Development & Student Research Center and Diane Terorde-Doyle, Ph.D., Director Hume House, Child Development & Student Research Center and Wenxian Zhang, Head of Archives & Special Collections, Olin Library.

Hand on a teal background holding a phone with an image of the Bloomberg Connects app and three artworks

Audio Guide

Learn more about select artworks from the current exhibition season including works on view in Symbolic Languages. Recorded by Dr. Alice Davidson & Dr. Diane Terorde-Doyle, of Hume House, Child Development & Student Research Center and David Matteson, Associate Curator of Education at Rollins Museum of Art.

Keynote | Who's in Charge Here? Sharing Authority with Young Children in Museums

Recorded February 4, 2025 | Nicole Cromartie, Director of Learning and Engagement at the Clyfford Still Museum presents the catalyst and supporting research for Clyfford Still, Art, and the Young Mind (2022), a behind-the-scenes look at the exhibition’s development, evaluation findings, and current initiatives in sharing authority with our youngest visitors. This exhibition inspired Symbolic Languages: Children's Understandings of the Collection at Rollins Museum of Art

View More Videos

Peek inside Symbolic Languages: Children's Understandings of the Collection

with curators Dr. Alice Davidson, Dr. Diane Doyle, & David Matteson

Look inside the creation and creativity behind Rollins Museum of Art (RMA)'s first exhibition co-curated with preschool children! Explore exhibition highlights with Dr. Alice Davidson (Executive Director) and Dr. Diane Doyle (Director) of Rollins College Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center (CDC) and RMA Associate Curator of Education David Matteson. Music featured: Happy and Fun (Full) by Alex MakeMusic

View More Videos

Tours, Events, and Related Content

Current Season at Rollins Museum of Art

Explore the Rollins Museum of Art Current Season including intriguing exhibitions, thought-provoking lectures (in person AND virtually), family events, tours in English and Spanish, Art at The Alfond Inn, and more!
Arte Y Café Con La Curadora

Acompaña a la Dra. Gisela Carbonell, Directora Interina y Curadora, para recorridos guiados en español. Café y pastelillitos provistos por nuestro auspiciador Café Don Juan.
Join Interim Director and Curator Dr. Gisela Carbonell for exhibition tours in Spanish. Coffee and pastries provided by our program sponsor, Café Don Juan.
360 Degree Virtual Exhibition Views

Take a virtual tour of the Winter 2025 season's exhibitions!
Saturday Museum Highlights Tours at 1pm & 3pm

Enjoy tours of select works in current exhibitions at the Rollins Museum of art on Saturdays at 1pm and 3pm unless otherwise noted on our Events Page. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. No registration required. Admission is free.
Audio Guides

Listen to audio guides of museum highlights, art at The Alfond Inn, our Outdoor Sculpture Tour, and more on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.