2020 NGV Kids Summer Festival

Inspired by the NGV's summer exhibitions, Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines and KAWS: PLAYTIME, the NGV Kids Summer Festival will run from 11 – 19 January 2020.

The free festival focuses on the theme of 'Make Art, Make Friends' and offers children and families nine days 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.

Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV said, 'The NGV is committed to offering a school holiday program that 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.

NGV Kids on Tour returns in January 2020 with the largest ever free program of art-driven activities and workshops for children and families across over 80 regional and metropolitan Victorian venues. From Lorne to Swan Hill, Bendigo to Mornington, the 2020 program is the Gallery's most comprehensive outreach to Victorian communities since NGV Kids on Tour began seven years ago. View the attached Kids on Tour media release for the full program and list of venues hosting activities and workshops.

Festival highlights

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 'Portrait Mode'. Created by Beci for the NGV Kids Summer Festival, and 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 'Wander, Draw, Explore'. 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
Relaxed Mornings are an opportunity for visitors with autism, sensory sensitivities or disability to have a quieter Gallery experience, with fewer people and reduced noise. Starring 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 in a 'Little Gems' workshop. Kids will find the art in everyday objects as they are transformed into delicate jewellery with an edge.

Indigenous Hip Hop Projects
Indigenous Hip Hop Projects is 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. Teens are invited to discover printing techniques and play with vibrant colours and bold patterns to create their own designs.

The 2020 NGV Kids Summer Festival is FREE and will run daily from Saturday 11 to Sunday 19 January 2020. For further information please visit the website: NGV.MELBOURNE/KIDS.
KAWS: PLAYTIME is FREE and on display at NGV International until 13 April 2020. Further information can be found on the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE/KIDS.