Visit ArtPlay on the riverbank next to Federation Square or online to discover a beloved art space where children, families and artists co-create fantastical worlds with global reach.
ArtPlay has been the starting post for many acclaimed creative works, and its model has inspired other world-class institutions like Art Ground in Singapore and the Factory of Contemporary Arts (FoCA) in Jeonju, South Korea.
Over the past year, we have partnered with FoCA to develop digital works with children and artists in Australia and Korea, including translated versions of experiences from Jessica Wilson’s acclaimed Child Nation project.
This month, children can explore three self-led journeys online in English and Korean: Gallery of Strange, Peculiar Parent Picture and Party of Ghosts from home.
These fun and subversive activities invite kids to use their own places and people as the subject of new art, working at their own pace and exploring their quirky personalities along the way.
The imaginative online play will continue from 21 March to 31 May with Mountain Dreams – interactive digital poems that guide children to speak to a mountain and unlock puzzles.
Jessica Wilson created Mountain Dreams with three Korean artists: Inyoung Yeo, Suji Park and Miryu Yoon.
‘We have boldly combined technology and creativity into a powerful dynamic duo that allows children’s imagination to drive their own experiences,’ Jessica said.
‘The child feels like they are collaborating with the Korean artists to make a kind of live poem together. They get to experience a culturally different way of seeing.’
In-person workshop
We have a limited number of places available in our live Talking with Shadows workshops at ArtPlay on 26 and 27 March for Cultural Diversity Week.
Designed by Jessica Wilson and GiJong Yu, the event will challenge kids in Melbourne and Jeonju in Korea to have a conversation via video-link without any spoken words, using a large projection screen and shadows.
‘We are taking away language as a form of communication and replacing it with physical responses to each other and the different buildings they are in, so that these children can engage in a totally new kind of imaginative conversation,’ Jessica said.
About ArtPlay
ArtPlay brings together children, families and artists to explore and create innovative arts experiences at its premises at Birrarung Marr and online.
A key ArtPlay program is the New Ideas Lab, supporting the development of multiple new works, many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally.
Other upcoming ArtPlay events include:
– Threads: Come and make a creative play space for children and families using thread on 3 April.
– The Colour and Sound of My Totem: Join the Dreaming stage of our New Ideas Lab project to explore totems through visual arts on 9 April and music on 10 April.
– Islands: Escape to a surreal desert island in this interactive exhibition, on until 14 April.
Check out ArtPlay’s What’s On page and stay tuned to its social channels to keep up to date with current offerings.
