Mari Kanstad Johnsen’s Animals-Only Night at MoMA

“I have always loved the idea of different environments colliding,” says the Oslo-based artist, illustrator, and writer Mari Kanstad Johnsen about this month’s installment of Drawn to MoMA. “In this case letting animals, which do not belong in a museum, take over the space.” In 2022, Bedtime for Bo, written by Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold and illustrated by Johnsen, was one of the 10 winners of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books award from the New York Times Book Review and the New York Public Library. “I love going to museums alone when I’m traveling,” says Johnsen. “In addition to taking in the art, I sneak glances at the other visitors and watch how they move around in groups or alone. When I’m traveling my mind goes into a different mode; it’s more open to my surroundings than during busy everyday life with its long to-do lists.”

Mari Kanstad Johnsen has written and illustrated several award-winning children's books, most recently Bedtime for Bo, published in the US by Enchanted Lion Books. It was a winner of the 2022 Best Illustrated Children’s Books award from the New York Times Book Review and the New York Public Library.

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