IF YOU'RE looking for fun, free activities to do with the grandkids these school holidays - and you're in Melbourne - then head to the NGV.
Inspired by the NGV's summer exhibitions, Keith Haring/JeanMichel Basquiat: Crossing Lines and KAWS, NGV Kids Summer Festival is on now until January 19.
The free event focuses on the theme of 'Make Art, Make Friends' and offers children and families more than a week of activities to encourage creativity and engagement with art.
Activities include hip-hop workshops, dance parties, hands-on art-inspired sessions, relaxed mornings, free film screenings and programs for teenagers.
NGV director Tony Ellwood said the school holiday program provides a fun and accessible way for kids and families to immerse themselves in art and creativity.
"Drawing on our summer exhibitions, this is a particularly inspiring and interactive Kids Summer Festival," he said.
Festival highlights include:
Portrait Mode: Melbourne designer, illustrator and author Beci Orpin shares her passion for geometric designs and ways to make colour pop in her paper portrait-making activity. Drawing on emotive characters featured in KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness and KAWS: Playtime, kids will create colourful portraits of themselves and their friends.
Wander, Draw, Explore: Melbourne-based artist Ghostpatrol, will take over the NGV Great Hall with his interactive installation. Inspired by Keith Haring's use of chalk on the streets of New York City and Leonard French's colourful stained glass ceiling in the Great Hall, kids can add to Ghostpatrol's geometric character creations with their own chalk drawings.
Relaxed Mornings: An opportunity for visitors with autism, sensory sensitivities or disability to have a quieter gallery experience, with fewer people and reduced noise. Starring New York-based artist KAWS's character BFF, children's exhibition KAWS: PLAYTIME opens early to welcome families to enjoy a relaxed session each weekday of the NGV Kids Summer Festival. Young visitors can nestle into cosy nooks, explore and play at their own pace.
Little Gems: Melbourne contemporary jeweller Annemieke Ytsma from Underground Sundae will help kids to create their own jewellery.
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects: A creative team of dancers who work with Indigenous communities across Australia, inspiring the next generation through music, theatre and performance. Feel the power of the beat and dance to the rhythm of this energetic crew of hip-hop dancers.
Print It: Melbourne-based textile and screen-printing designers Home-Work will lead a hands-on printing workshop especially for teens at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
For more details on the event, on until January 19 at NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia click HERE
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