The Phillips Plays

The Phillips Plays is a monthly drop-in program that invites families with children to engage with art through playful, hands-on activities. For the August 2026 session, the program takes inspiration from artist Sam Gilliam’s experimental approach to creating art, encouraging participants to explore color, scale, and fabric in the museum’s Art Workshop. In addition to the studio-based art-making, families can enjoy a carpeted creative-play area stocked with blocks, books, toys, and games, fostering imaginative exploration for young visitors and their caregivers.

When: Saturday, August 8, 2026. The program is a drop-in event; specific start and end times are not given, but it likely occurs during regular museum hours.

Tickets: Price not available. Admission is presumably included with general museum entry or free for members — no ticketing details are provided in the source.

Activities: Art-making in the workshop inspired by Sam Gilliam’s techniques, with a focus on color, scale, and fabric; a carpeted creative-play area with blocks, books, toys, and games for unstructured play.

Ages: Designed for children and their caregivers; suitable for a range of young ages, though no specific age range is stated.

Venue: The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW, Washington, DC.

Note: For a related experience focused on Sam Gilliam, the museum’s satellite location Phillips@THEARC in Southeast DC hosts the ongoing installation *Art-Play-Practice*, inspired by Gilliam’s work *Broad Cape* (1972), which invites all ages to explore art through hands-on, imaginative play.