Au Pairs Participate in Getty's "Life Imitates Art" Challenge

As part of their monthly cultural connection meeting, au pairs in the Texas area participated in the virtual “Life Imitates Art” challenge created by the Getty Museum. During this challenge led by Area Director Cindy, au pairs were presented with famous art pieces and were tasked to create their versions of the art with whatever materials that were readily available to them. The au pairs came up with some brilliant imitations, and it was a great way for the au pairs to learn about the history of art and how it connects to culture. One au pair even involved her host child as part of her recreation!

Jarne, an au pair from New Zealand said, “The ‘Life Imitates Art’ challenge we did for our monthly au pair connection was such a fun challenge. We were able to interpret the art pieces in ways that we could express ourselves and be creative but also have a good time and share some laughs together". Angela, a South African au pair, mentioned “When we did the "Life Imitates Art" challenge on Sat, I felt like the art gave expression in certain beautiful ways! It was so fun to get into the art characters and being creative in our own way".

The appreciation for art is truly universal and cross-cultural, so this was the perfect activity for our au pairs to participate in. The quote “Life Imitates Art” is the notion that an event in the real world was inspired by creative work. Oscar Wilde once said, "Life imitates art far more than Art imitates life."

This lesson is powerful, as it teaches our au pairs to see the beauty that lies within everyday life. Since traveling and meeting people in person is difficult during these times, this Zoom call was a nice opportunity for au pairs to socialize virtually and build connections with one another while everyone remained safe at home.

‍