Tailored to pint-sized punters, the Kid Contemporary exhibition is part of Sydney Contemporary, Sydney’s upcoming art fair at Carriageworks. The exhibition will explore themes of interactivity and family through two separate works by Indonesian artist Uji Handoko Eko Saputro (aka Hahan), made familiar to Australian’s through Brisbane’s Asia Pacific Triennial (APT).
Memento Masko is an interactive mask-making project that gives children templates with different facial expressions to colour in. The activity reflects upon traditional Indonesian mask making traditions and is sure to generate expressive artistic approaches from all that participate.
Family is Forever is a large-scale mural that explores themes of family and childhood. The mural will be placed in a prominent outdoor position and will be a tribute to loved ones.
The installations will be embedded within fair, allowing the flow-over energy to engage our youngest ‘gallery-goers’, and designed so parents can take a breather and a coffee at the same time.
Family is Forever and Memento Masko were commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art ( QAGoMA) Children’s Art Centre for the seventh Kids APT, with support from the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation.
QAGoMA’s Children’s Art Centre has a history of interactive exhibitions and events that encourage creativity while keeping children engaged and entertained. ‘The APT and particularly QAG/GoMA have done a wonderful job of making people comfortable in a museum or in a broader sense an art world environment at a younger age,’ said CEO and Group Fairs Director of Art Fairs Australia Barry Keldoulis.
The inclusion of Kid Contemporary in Sydney Contemporary’s program is an indicator of a coming age where children will be increasingly catered to within the art scene. With an emerging generation of collectors with young families, this inclusive trend is sure to be a popular one.
Keldoulis himself is a fan of children in art galleries. ‘(In) HK there were people that walked around with kids tied together with a big elastic band, which was really cute and engaging,’ said Keldoulis.
He also points out that by including children in art events, an investment in a creative future can be made. By allowing children to see and consider a range of artworks, creative critical thought is adopted at an early age. This can only be a good thing for tomorrow’s art world.
The diverse program of Sydney Contemporary will also include talks, art walks, installations, sculpture, video works, and other visual artworks.
Sydney Contemporary 2013 will run from 20-22 September at Carriageworks, with the first night being held on the evening of Thursday 19 September.
As a valued supporter of ArtsHub, Sydney Contemporary is offering general entry tickets at 40% off for those that make a purchase through the ArtsHub ticket offer page.
For further information visit the Sydney Contemporary website.
(Image: Kids APT7 at the Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland)
