Little Mashers’ CURIOUS KIDS’ FESTIVAL
The Curious Kids’ Festival is an immersive, child centric, arts festival, which aims to provide young people with an opportunity to take part in a variety of vibrant workshops. There will be a diverse programme of activities run by experienced local artists, which will captivate and excite children, with the emphasis being on creativity and the environment we live in.
Each child will be given a Curiosity Passport on entry to prompt them to explore the space, take part in all the activities on offer and create their own collection of festival memorabilia to take home.
The festival will be split into a choice of two sessions - either 10-1.30 pm or 2.30-6pm and families can have the opportunity to explore as many of the activities as possible during their session.
“When a person is given the opportunity to express themselves creatively, whether it be through music, art, theatre, sculpture, painting, ceramics etc, it helps you problem-solve, gives you confidence, good communication skills and reasoning. Creativity supports innovation and improves productivity, but most importantly makes us happy. Offering these insights to children at a young age, hopefully gives them a curiosity and creativity that they hold on to for life.”
Clare Tomlinson, Little Mashers
Workshops available to explore:
LITTLE MASHERS - Curious Kids Grows UV T-shirt Printing
WORKSHOP: Each child will be invited to screen print their own festival T-shirt, on the theme of ENVIRONMENT. Using an array of eco stencils, inks and simple block prints they can then personalise it. Alongside the workshop there will be a “curious space installation“ using 2d shapes and UV light that the kids can explore on completion of their shirt, to allow them to see their artwork in a different light.
LITTLE MASHERS is a creative children’s company formed by Clare Tomlinson and Andrew Davies in 2010. Over the last 14 years they have developed links with galleries, youth groups, schools and festivals to facilitate creative workshops for kids and adults. Projects are either themed or open ended and together with the development of practical skills, support confidence, creativity and well being. They have worked with many arts organisations including Tate Modern, Turner Contemporary, The Barbican, Hastings Contemporary and the De La Warr.
ZEROH - Animated Moths on a Bus
WORKSHOP: Creating a Curious Moth swarm, known as an Eclipse - ZEROH will engage participants in creating fantastical moth wing patterns using collage and markings inspired by the colour and patterns of native species. The individual moths will then be added to an Eclipse which will be animated and viewable via a smartphone or Tablet wherever you are. All on a double decker bus!
Zeroh Studio are local artists who work across a number of disciplines to create public facing artworks. Known locally for their projection work, The Hastings Moth Project, Wavelength in Bottle Alley and the Digital Arts Hub project, at the Observer Buildings, which saw the artists overseeing and devising works which accumulated in the ‘People of Hastings’ exhibition which presented over 300 portraits of local people who had been 3D scanned and printed.
LOULOU COUSIN - Mechanical Cardboard Characters
WORKSHOP: This is a cardboard mechanical workshop, using funny collage imagery or drawings of your own. Turn a handle and watch your character jump or bounce. Suitable for all ages. This workshop can be made more complex for older children.
LOULOU COUSIN started her career as a community artist, then became an art teacher and now works as a freelance teacher with adults and workshop facilitator in schools. She makes large 3D structures and tiny automata and lots more in between, all in cardboard, a resource she feels is totally underrated.
ANNA ATKINSON - Nature Cyanotype Prints & Poems
WORKSHOP: Bringing together nature and found objects to create visual blue poems inspired by American Abstract artist Robert Raushenberg, who made art from recycled, discarded detritus and Anna Atkins, a 19th century botanist who hand-printed several albums of botanical and textile specimens, especially Photographs of British Algae. The cyanotype is a slow-reacting, economical photographic printing formulation sensitive to a limited near ultraviolet and blue light spectrum. We will make cyanotype prints inspired by nature and add found poetry.
ANNA ATKINSON has been a children's Art workshop leader and visual storyteller for 12 years. Anna has worked in mainstream Primary and Secondary school settings providing therapeutic art interventions for over 10 years and illustrates her images with words and poetry.
BECCY MCCRAY - Millions of Magical Mushrooms
WORKSHOP: Fun gals and fun guys! Come and make millions of magical mushrooms with artist Beccy Mccray. Use air drying clay and foraged and found materials to create a collaborative mycelial network and shrooms to take home with you. Don’t forget to take pics of them out in the wild and share on social #mushroomcurious #acurioustowngrows
BECCY MCCRAY has partnered with grassroots communities alongside science experts and world-leading cultural institutions as both an artist and workshop facilitator. She also works with a collective exploring community art combined with DIY craft, blurring the line between artist and audience, bringing people together through the sharing of materials and ideas.
MARIE-LOUISE MILLER - Butterfly Weaving
WORKSHOP: Butterfly Weaving - This butterfly workshop uses recycled materials such as beads, fabric, yarn and sticks and a ‘god’s eye’ inspired technique to create the wings. Each woven butterfly made will help create a large scale communal installation piece at the festival
MARIE-LOUISE MILLER is an Artist/Designer and Educator based in St Leonards on Sea.
MAKEDO - Curious Cardboard Constructions
MAKEDO is a series of safe cardboard construction tools purposely designed for kids to imagine and build the world they want to see. Using a simple cardboard box kids can create their own curious creatures or objects during this freeform activity that will help spark their imagination and highlight the potential and value of this humble, everyday material.
This workshop will be run by young creative facilitators currently studying at college.
£18 - kids + £2 - accompanying adult
£34 - family (2 kids + 1 adult) .
A limited number of free kids tickets for are available for families on low income. Please email curiousagenda@gmail.com.