Dance, theatre, cooking and creative workshops will keep the family busy at this year’s Art & About Sydney.
Young and old have be given the opportunity to become spectators and participants in a series of creative events running through Sydney as part of Art & About Sydney.
A major family event, and one bound to inspire a few new moves around the homestead, will be the dance and workshop event SPILL. Choreographed by Artistic Director and Choreographer Shaun Parker with music by Nick Wales, SPILL will have performers running, leaping, spinning and gliding over the architecture of an outdoor playground.
‘It really does celebrate the inner child and playfulness that we all have as adults. So in this sense, the parents quite often laugh and get just as much out of the show as the kids do!’ said Parker.
The narrative of the performance will be expressed through dance techniques such as break, locking, popping, acrobatics, contemporary, parkour and free-running. Momentum will be rapid and the tone playful in this colourful, highly-skilled performance.
Following the show, audiences will be given a chance to test out their own skills. ‘We thought it would be a great idea that at the end of the show that there was an interactive workshop such that we could teach specific moves as well as encourage confidence in the kids’ own creativity,’ said Parker.
Other workshop and performance opportunities will also be provided to families through Art & About Sydney.
Kinder Art, a free-form arts studio happening at Surry Hills, Newtown and Glebe, will present toddlers with a canvas, brushes, paint and the total freedom to do what they like. The results will undoubtedly be gloriously messy.
For kids aged seven and above, Think Outside the Square is another chance to create an expressive work of art. Run by Pine Street Creative Art Centre’s Jane Caveney, participants will be encouraged to draw their bedroom in all it’s complexity at Glebe and Waterloo libraries. A Haymarket library session will have participants exploring the beauty of spring flowers. Paper and pencils will be provided for all sessions.
For more library hijinks, Theatre in the Library will be creating an interactive production for ages five and up at Ultimo Library. A dynamic art theatre show is guaranteed, and the chaos is sure to send the librarians into a tailspin.
If all this activity works up an appetite, hands-on food event Kids in the Kitchen for children five to 12 at Vaucluse House is sure to satisfy. Kids will be able to use the venue’s home grown produce to bake damper, churn butter and make their own lemonade. When the hard work is through, the kids will then be able to sit down to a feast of their own making, hopefully inspiring some follow up action in the kitchen at home.
In addition to these specialised events, many of the installations and exhibitions of Art & About Sydney are suitable for families. Visit the Art & About Sydney website for more information.
Art & About Sydney will be running through Sydney from 20 September to 20 October.
(Pictured: ‘Kinder Art’)
