Holidays at the Orsay
A bilingual children’s program to nurture art.
© Musée d'Orsay / Sophie Crépy
Support to Education and Family Experience
“Holidays at the Orsay” is a bilingual program for budding artists and art amateurs, to be held during school holidays throughout the year, summer break included.
With education and families engagement being at the heart of both the Orsay’s and AFMO’s missions, supporting an expanded bilingual “Holidays at the Orsay” (Les vacances à Orsay) program is an inspirational project for AFMO’s patrons and members.
Since 2022, the “Holidays at the Orsay” program has been hosted in the beautiful Salle des fêtes, the former ballroom, offering a range of entertaining and creative experiences inspired by the Museum and its collections. The objective is to take advantage of school holidays to enhance the discovery and understanding of the Orsay’s collections, nurture children’s appetite for art and foster a dialogue amongst generations, budding art lovers and their families.
Each holiday, the workshops focus on a theme such as nature which children will explore through a range of activities in both French and English, ranging from drawing and sculpture to gallery tours, reenactments and free play. All activities are free of charge and accessible to children aged 2 and over regardless of their background. Special care is given to children with disabilities and health issues for a truly joyful experience.
Felix Vallotton, Le ballon, 1899, huile sur carton marouflé sur bois, © RMN-Grand Palais (musée d’Orsay) / Sylvie Chan-Liat
AFMO’s Impact
The Holidays at the Orsay proved to be a tremendous success, with a 95% satisfaction rate the summer of 2025. This program nurtures children’s creativity through creative workshops, playful museum explorations and learning experiences. Offered during all five vacation periods, the program was made into a bilingual one thanks to AFMO’s support for the first time. 2025 was also the first time that the summer edition lasted throughout the entirety of the months of July and August. Over those two months, 25,000 children were hosted in the Salle des Fêtes. 75% were first timers and 41% were foreign visitors.
In light of such success, AFMO will renew its support in 2026.
To register your child for this program, present your AFMO card to the attending staff at the Musée d’Orsay’s Salle des fêtes.
Please note that space may be limited.
For more information about the program or your donation, please send an email to projects@aforsay.org.
Warmest thanks to our generous patrons for supporting “Holidays at the Orsay”, especially:
Thierry and Lisa Chanel
Jonathan Dorfman and Melissa Kaish
Leslie Hindman
Dean and Elizabeth Kehler
Ken Howery
Peter and Judy Kovler
The Kovner Foundation
Andrea Laporte
Colleen Ritzau Leth
Denise Littlefield Sobel
Paul Vizcarrondo
Byron Carlock
Tobias Jaffe and Andrea Breslin Jaffe
Joseph P. & Nancy F. Keithley
Annamarie Kostura
Diana Stewart
Amanda Taylor