Cai Guo-Qiang | Falling Back to Earth

Over the last weekend of the school holidays my youngest son (10) and I went to Brisbane to spend time with family. One of the highlights was our time at the Gallery of Modern Art to visit their exhibition of artist, Cai Guo - Qiang.

We were very lucky to be the first in to see the exhibition that morning and walking into the room of Heritage 2013 featuring 99 animals from around the world drinking from a single watering hole was exhilarating.

A large Eucalptyus tree which was earmarked for clearing for an urban development (Eucalyptus 2013) sits patiently as visitors explore its colours, shapes and textures.  Children (and adults) are invited to sit and draw. 

'By placing a tree in a gallery space, Cai references the Chinese literati tradition in which artists and poets would commune with nature to gain their moral and spirtual bearings, and represent the landscape as a reflection of their experiences and values.'

Head On 2006 (inspired by Berlin's turbulent history) allowed the children to walk amongst the pack of 99 wolves throwing themselves towards a large glass panel. 

My son and his cousins (8 and 11) spent over an hour within Cai Guo - Qiang's children's project Lets Create an exhibition with a boy named Cai. They created explosion events, gunpowder drawings, and built tress, boats and animals.

If you live in Brisbane do not miss this exciting exhibition and if you are interstate do whatever you can to visit.

Another must see when visiting the gallery is the  exhibition Everyday Magic which 'focuses on how the everyday - both material and situations - can be transformed into art'.

Cai Guo-Qiang | Falling Back to Earth

Gallery of Modern Art - Brisbane

until 11 May 2014

* Free admission for children 12 years and under

My Art Journal Giveaway

This giveaway has ended. Thank you to everyone who entered. The winner has been notified.
Our friends at the Gallery of Modern Art in Queensland have given us a copy of the 'Drawing Life for Kids: My Art Journal' to give away.  The journal is inspired by Matisse's love of drawing and contains over 100 pages of activities.

My daughter (aged 10) uses her journal in bed before she goes to sleep. The book contains beautiful images and questions that prompt children in using their imagination and thinking outside the box of their everyday life.  The journal is great for kids who love to draw and kids who need encouragement.

The journal is also a wonderful keepsake.... I love this introduction: 'This art journal is about you. Take your time and make each drawing special. When it is finished, your journal will be full of your childhood memories. Treasure it for life!'

Our favourites in the book are "What would your family look like if you were all superheros and think of five things that are absolutely impossible.

To win your own copy in 25 words or less 'what your favourite time to draw is and why.' before 31st Jan 2012 to info@artsrocket.org . Winner will be notified by email on the 1st Feb 2012. Prize value :$19.95

The journal is available to purchase at the Gallery store or online at www.australianartbooks.com.au

GOMA - Matisse | Pip & Pop | Yayoi Kusama

Last week we were in Brisbane visiting family but we also managed to fit in a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art.

Matisse - Drawing Life
This is an  impressive exhibition that features over 300 works on paper by Henri Matisse and is the most comprehensive exhibition of Matisse's prints and drawings ever mounted.

My youngest son (aged 8) was not very keen but my daughter (aged 10) who loves to draw any moment she can get was fascinated with the simple lines and shading Matisse used to create beautiful drawings.

My son did gain interest when we entered the Drawing Room, a large scaled studio.  They both grabbed a board, art paper and pencil to sit amongst other artists to draw just like Matisse.   There are also a selection of interactive tablets available to draw upon  and email your finished artwork to family or friends.  The studio is filled with sculptures, furniture, still - life arrangements and models - plenty of
inspiration.
     

       

• This is a great introduction to Matisse  to check out before you visit - Matisse for Kids

Matisse - Drawing Life runs until the 3rd March
Cost:  Children under 12: free, Adults: $20, Family: 2 adults 2 children ( aged 13- 17) $50

Yayoi Kusama | Look Now, See Forever
We first experienced the vibrant Japanese artist  Yayoi Kusama at the MCA with her exhibition Mirrored Years in 2009. This new exhibition, Look Now, See Forever features new work by the artist that all families will love.

Giant shiny pumpkins greet us as we enter (very tempting to touch - but not allowed), blooming flower sculptures look over us as we pass by and Dots Obsession again tempts us to touch the giant balloons.


A favourite for everyone was the Obliteration room - a completely white room that encourages children to fill with multi-coloured dots.   Kids will enjoy being part of this installation and not being restrained from  touching.  We had a lot of fun finding spaces for our dots.

    

• You can see the progress of the Obliteration room here. 
• The exhibition features painting, sculpture, video and installation
• Children can take photos but not with a flash

Look Now, See Forever runs until March 11th
Cost: Free

Pip & Pop | we miss you magic land!
My daughter and I visited the Japan Foundation 2009 exhibition "Under the crystal sky" of this talented Perth-based duo and we were delighted to see that  we could experience it all again.  GOMA commissioned Pip & Pop (Nicole Andrijevic and Tanya Schultz) to create  a new sugar coated world.    'We miss you magic land!' is absolutely beautiful.

My kids loved moving from one  area to the next and discover the sugary lands and inhabitants.  Children can also lay down on a mat to take in the creations hanging from above.   At the end of the exhibition  they have the opportunity create their own virtual magic land online featuring themselves running around in  the world of of Pip & Pop.   My children are still using the interactive game at home to create new worlds.

we miss you magic land runs until the 4th March 2012.
Cost: Free

Not in Brisbane?
If you  are unable to get to Brisbane to see any of these exhibitions - families can still interact online with a selection of games for kids.   They can fill a room with dots, draw like Matisse and create their own fantasy land.

Memberships at GOMA
This season new family memberships also receive a copy of "Drawing Life for kids: My Art Journal".
More info:  http://qag.qld.gov.au/members/gallery_membership

Location:
Stanley Place, South Bank
Brisbane
http://qag.qld.gov.au/

Happy New Year!

Bring on 2012!

What we will be  up to in January:

• Visiting the GOMA for the Matisse, Pip and Pop and Yayoi Kasama exhibition
• My daughter will have her first Opera experience with The Magic Flute
• Heading to shows at the Sydney Festival
• Flickerkids at Flickerfest
• Stage Fright! at New Theatre
• Circus Oz - Steampowered
• Interviewing Finegan Kruckemeyer

Happy New Year to all.

x

Contemporary Art for Contemporary Kids

Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan In-flight (Project: Another Country) , 2009

 Courtesy: The artists / Photograph: Ray Fulton

7 October - 18 December 2010

In a first for Sydney, Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation has partnered with the Queensland Art Gallery Children’s Art Centre to present ‘Contemporary Art for Contemporary Kids’ – an interactive multimedia exhibition featuring five artists projects created especially for children and families.

Highlights include:

ALFREDO & ISABEL AQUILIZAN

In-flight (Project: Another Country) 2009

Brisbane-based artists Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan’s project, In-flight (Project: Another Country) 2009, asks participants to make aeroplanes out of found materials. Using the recycled objects as well as off-cuts and twine, participants are invited to construct aircraft within a dynamic activity space. Touching on themes of migration, family and memory, the recycled planes form a giant flock suspended from the ceiling.

SUTEE KUNAVICHAYANONT

Classroom upside down 2006

School will never be the same after children experience Sutee Kunavichayanont’s ‘classroom’.

Turning school tables upside down and conventional ideas on their head, the artist’s carvings of animals, buildings and people combine different cultural sources, encouraging children to look at familiar things in new ways and to think about how different cultures might interact.  Children can participate in the artwork by making rubbings of all the carved surfaces.

For more information visit: http://qag.qld.gov.au/kids/exhibitions/contemporary_art_for_contemporary_kids

Kids' APT Summer Spectacular | QLD

Free artist workshops, performances and tours for kids will bring the world of contemporary art to life when the Kids’ APT Summer Spectacular takes over the Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery from January 16 to 26, 2010.

For more information visit http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/apt6/kids_apt

Contemporary Australia: Optimism | QLD | 15 Nov - 22 Feb

The latest exhibition at the QLD Art Gallery encompasses many facets of contemporary Australian visual art and culture, the exhibition includes painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, installation, video and video installation, cinema, animation, performance, music and comedy.

For ‘Contemporary Australia: Optimism’, the Children’s Art Centre presents interactive art works and projects created by a number of exhibiting artists especially for children and families. Spanning both levels of the Children’s Art Centre and beyond, the projects encourage children to explore and discover the fresh and imaginative ways that Australian artists consider their world.

Highlights include:
Thomas Meadowcroft Walk the car
A large-scale sound theatre introduces children to Thomas Meadowcroft’s experimental approach to music. Relating to his sound work Monaro Eden 2008 in the exhibition, children are invited to take a different car journey and create endless patterns and sequences of car sounds as they travel through the space.

Arlene Texta Queen Rides with the brides
Diners at the Galleries Cafe and Bistro can take part in a collaborative project featuring activities and imagery by the artist on tabletop sheets. With the artist’s medium of choice — the texta pen, children and families complete the pictures which make each tablecloth a unique collaboration.

Tony Albert Alien Nation Embassy
Tony Albert’s interest in aliens responds to both the alienation of Indigenous people within their own country and the ‘alien invasion’ of Australia by Europeans in 1788. Especially for kids, Tony Albert has created the Alien nation embassy and invites all earthlings to become honorary citizens — but not before passing the ‘citizenship test’! The multimedia installation features a population counter, video footage of the artist with the aliens, and electronic swipe cards for kids to access secret alien information.

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Contemporary Australia: Optimism
15 Nov 2008 - 22 Feb 2009
QLD Art Gallery

Yo Picasso Kids - Qld

Yo Picasso Kids is on at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, from 9 June - 14 September 2008.

Children have the opportunity to make paper masks using pencils, scissors and elastic, and paper sculptures as shown in the photo accompanying this post.

Yo Picasso Kids is not particularly inclusive of younger age groups but from my obsevations the 5-8 year old groups enjoyed themselves.

For secondary school students the GOMA has an I Love Art History program to develop an understanding of the Picasso and his Collection exhibition from an historical perspective.

Andy Warhol | 8 Dec- 30 March | QLD

Andy Warhol United States b.1928 d.1987 Self Portrait No.9 1986
Acrylic and screenprint on canvas 203.5 x 203.7cm National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the National Gallery Women's Association, Governor, 1987 ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc

Exclusive to Brisbane, Australia’s first major Andy Warhol retrospective brings together more than 300 works spanning all areas of his practice from the 1950s until his death in 1987 — paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, photographs, films, videos and installations.

The Silver Factory: Andy Warhol for Kids
The Gallery has curated a program especially for children to be presented in the Children’s Art Centre spaces in the Gallery of Modern Art for the duration of the ‘Andy Warhol’ exhibition.

‘The Silver Factory: Andy Warhol for Kids’ will feature two rarely seen bodies of work: a selection of works from Warhol’s 1983 exhibition ‘Toy Paintings’, in which he installed paintings of toys at child height over a Fish wallpaper, and a suite of drawings titled, “A Was a Lady Who Went Shopping at Sacks” c.1953.

Children of all ages will enjoy a range of art work-related interactive activities developed by the Gallery and a large-scale 2007 version of Warhol’s Silver Clouds 1966 installation.

‘Photobooth Portraits’
This is an activity inspired by Andy Warhol’s multiple self-portraits and references his lifelong fascination with the human face. Children will be invited to manipulate their own image using colour schemes drawn from Warhol’s famous silkscreen portraits.

‘Warhol’s World’
This activity, designed for children five years and up, features a specially developed computer game which enables children to explore a series of Time Capsules, each focusing on a chapter of Warhol’s life. Constructed as a quiz, the game uncovers interesting facts about the artist’s life, art practice and his diverse roles as a graphic designer, band manager and filmmaker.

‘15 Seconds of Fame’
This activity invites children to appear on the silver screen in the style of Warhol’s Screen Tests from the mid 1960s. Once captured on film, the children’s screen tests will be manipulated to recreate the unique qualities of Warhol’s test reels.

‘At the Factory’
In this activity zone younger children will be inspired by Warhol’s box sculptures. The space will contain an interactive based on Warhol’s renowned Brillo, Heinz, and Campbell’s box sculptures. Children will be encouraged to stack, sort and construct their own installations from the boxes.

‘My Favourite Toy’ and ‘Andy Warhol and the Alphabet’
These drawing activities will encourage children’s interaction with two suites of Warhol drawings featured in ‘The Silver Factory’. Children will be encouraged to view Warhol’s Toy paintings series commissioned in 1983, and then draw their favourite toys. A second drawing activity, inspired by Warhol’s suite of works on paper “A was a lady who went shopping at Sacks” c.1953, will encourage children to create text and drawings inspired by the letters missing from this alphabetical suite of works.

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Andy Warhol
8 Dec 07- 30 March 2008
Gallery of Modern Art - QLD
Stanley Place South Bank Queensland
For more details http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/coming_soon/andy_warhol

Art in Queensland - Beautiful One Day, Perfect the Next!

We moved to Queensland in January 2007. We were excited to be moving back to a city after living in the Hunter Valley for 10 years. It was with some trepidation that we ventured out into the South Bank Precinct as our only exposure to the area was World Expo in 1988.

To our pleasant surprise South Bank is a fantastic area for families, kids, parents and everyone in-between. You have a wonderful expansive view of the city and river, everything is well planned and most importantly, the main galleries, performing art centres and libraries are all in the same area of South Bank.

Most definitely Brisbane is now a city to rival Sydney and Melbourne as it seems to have a better balance between culture and lifestyle. The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is our favourite building and art space. Beautiful architecture, wonderful feeling of space, lovely large white walls for exhibiting and a great cafe as well.

Will bring you more from the city dubbed BrisVegas as soon as I get my Hasselblad 501c out and start photographing!!

Cheers
Merc
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Tours for kids
11.30am & 1.00pm every Sunday (GoMA)
September October November 2007
Tours of works in the Queensland Art Gallery Collection are offered for children aged 4-10 and their family or carers. The 25 minute, interactive tours encourage children to discover the unexpected in the ordinary and to consider ways contemporary artists use many elements to make one art work. Meet at the Information Desk, GoMA.
No bookings required Suitable for children aged 4–10, and their families. Meet at the Stanley Place Information Desk, QAG.