The upcoming projects are all responding to the provocation ‘Climate Emergency’.
Each project will be co-created with children and families at ArtPlay. The works include the creation of a sound capsule that will be buried near ArtPlay and rediscovered by the children of tomorrow, an installation of the secret world that lives beneath our feet, a performance for babies exploring our youngest generation’s relationship to the natural world and a fantastical theatrical journey through the dreams of children.
ArtPlay's New Ideas Lab is an annual EOI process that gives artists an opportunity to propose projects for our creative arts program with and for children and their families.
These projects are integrated into our program – look out for them in What’s On at ArtPlay or our E-News.
Sound Capsule for Future Humans
Artists: Aviva Endean and Justin Marshall
A Sound Capsule for Future Humans will be buried near ArtPlay and rediscovered by the kids of tomorrow. What will this place sound like in 150 years?
The capsule will include scores and charts based on our acoustic ecology. When the sound capsule is opened, future generations can hear the world from the perspective of children and understand how the sound of this place has changed.
Wood Wide Web
Artists: Barking Spider Visual Theatre
Wood Wide Web is a theatrical installation representing the secret world that lives beneath our feet. This underground, networked world will explore how the collaborative nature of trees is critical to their survival, referencing a parallel to our human collaborative effort to work together to create a cleaner, greener planet.
In Your Arms
Artists: Vanessa Chapple, Rivka Worth and collaborators
In Your Arms is an immersive performance work for babies and their carers - providing a chance to explore our youngest generation's relationship to the natural world. Indigenous ways of knowing and being, and movement principles inspired by the somatic work of Body Mind Centering, will underpin the development of this new work.
The project will be created with families at ArtPlay using song, story and Biophilic design. Participants will be guided to follow the baby's developmental patterns of curiosity alongside nature's seasonal rhythms.
Polypropylene Dreams
Artists: Briony Farrell and Christian Taylor
Polypropylene Dreams is a theatrical performance exploring climate anxiety through the story of Jasper and May. The trash creature who lives under Jasper and May’s beds keeps waking them up to take them on walks through their dreams; dreams about the future of the planet. What is it trying to tell them?
In development workshops, children will draw on the disciplines of creative writing, collaborative design and puppet-making to help build this fantastical theatre journey. Whilst also learning how to recognise and manage feelings of anxiety.
ArtPlay New Ideas Lab 2019-20 (ongoing)
Imagination Gamespaces
Artists: Brendan Ternus, Alia Syed Rose and Shaun Wykes
In Imagination Gamespaces children will create interactive story-based ‘escape rooms’, drawing on the disciplines of game design, creative writing, visual art and performance.
Participants in each of our immersive workshops are tasked with dreaming up new worlds, developing characters and stories, devising mysterious clues and tricky riddles, or designing fantastical costumes and sets. Resulting in ‘escape rooms’ designed by children for children.
The Wayfinders
Artists: Jessica Wilson, Justin Marshall, Thomas Bufardecci and Ben Paul
The Wayfinders is a location triggered audio experience which theatricalises built and natural landscapes using the voices and imaginations of children.
Children will become storytellers and protagonists voicing their experiences in outdoor spaces with myth-like imaginings. In the development process 9 to 12 year olds will create audio material to animate the environment. Later 3 to 6 year olds will respond to these creations jumping in and out of invisible sound zones responding to the voices embedded in the environment.