KITCHENER, ON.- The Children's Museum of Waterloo Region is thrilled to be announcing plans for an exhibition featuring the work of Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol's Factory 2009, will feature four distinct areas, offering something to visitors of every age and background. Working with curator, Marla Wasser of Pursuits, an art consulting firm based in Toronto, the anchor of the exhibit will feature many originals of Warhol's most iconic works - from soup cans to Mick Jaggers to sculpture boxes to Marilyn Monroes. In the main gallery and alongside these pieces will hang works of other contemporary artists who have chosen to appropriate Warhol in their own body of work. This portion of the exhibit, called The Art, Inspiration and Appropriation of Andy Warhol is, as David Marskell, the CEO of the Children's Museum explains, "a completely original collection of works and will serve to demonstrate how Warhol’s impact continues to resonate in high art and pop culture today."

Continuing through the Museum, visitors will have the opportunity to delve further into Warhol's world by viewing The Velvet Years, on loan from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. This exhibit features 56 photographs taken by Stephen Shore of Andy interacting with artists, musicians (specifically members of The Velvet Underground), actors, writers and cultural sophisticates in his studio space in New York City in the 1960's.

Young visitors can take part in learning about Warhol at The Art of Andy Warhol: Selected Artwork and Silkscreen Studio. This is a very special introduction to Warhol specifically for children, made possible by the Pittsburgh Andy Warhol Museum and The Children's Museum in Pittsburgh.

Finally, in the Museum's lower level, a studio space fashioned after Warhol's New York studio which he dubbed The Factory will allow visitors to appropriate Warhol themselves using a blend of new and old technology, always keeping in mind what Warhol would be doing in the Factory in 2009.

"This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for this young facility to evolve and begin to expand into wider age and geographical demographics," said David Marskell, the Museum's Chief Executive Officer. "The size and scope of the event has the potential to position the entire Region on a much larger map." The exhibit is also expected to showcase some of Warhol's films, such as Empire and Eat, and will serve to tie in other organizations in the community who cold offer programming surrounding the Warhol theme.

The Andy Warhol exhibition is scheduled to open at the Children's Museum January 10 and run through until April 19, 2009.