Children’s Artspace reveals new legendary exhibition

Adelaide Festival Centre’s Children’s Artspace is back with a brand-new exhibition, Legendary Textile Tales, that explores myths, folktales and cultural ancestry with artwork from Salisbury East and Craigmore High School students on display to the public tomorrow.

Students were led by emerging Adelaide artist Caitlin Bowe to create demons, gods, heroes and mythical creatures that featured in tales from their cultural backgrounds.

Caitlin Bowe is a sculptor and textile artist who tailored workshops to help students fabricate collage tapestries, sculpt 3-dimentional felt talismans, paint inky mythical creatures, and layer symbols to tell visual stories.

Caitlin Bowe:

As an artist, I often find myself working independently, so having the opportunity to work with students and to support them in the creation of their own textile artworks has been an amazing experience.

Students delved into mythologies of their own ancestry, drawing connections between themselves and these cultural narratives. With each workshop I saw the students grow in confidence of their own stories and skills and I am so grateful to have been a part of the journey to Legendary Textile Tales.

From Denmark’s The Little Mermaid to Pakistan’s The Elephant Army and Italy’s Lariosauro, cultures from around the world are represented in this exhibition that explores the dark and the light alike in storytelling.

Adelaide Festival Centre’s Children’s Artspace head curator Alice Dilger:

It has been a pleasure working with Caitlin Bowe and the students of Salisbury East and Craigmore High Schools to present our second Children’s Artspace exhibition. These tales and resulting art ignited class discussion, appreciation and insight into different cultures. We know that Legendary Textile Tales will spark all visitors to learn more about the stories from their own family.

Created by South Australian students with the help of an Adelaide Central School of Art graduate artist, each exhibition encourages students to engage in new practices and experiences, and creates a space for children to come together, be creative, and conceptualise current events and big ideas.

Hosting a new exhibition each school term, the gallery will present interactive workshops, performances and offer creative experiences to inspire children. It is collaborating with an international network of similar institutions including the Hamada Children’s Museum of Art in Japan, the Children’s Museum of Art in New York, the International Museum of Children’s Art in Oslo, Norway and the National Gallery Singapore.

Free activity, Spinning a Yarn, will take place in Children’s Artspace this Saturday and Sunday (7 – 8 May) where families are invited to create their own handheld loom. No registrations necessary.

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