The Hawkesbury Regional Gallery will kickstart its new free arts engagement program, ‘Culture Dose for Kids,’ starting Sunday, 12 May 2024.
The Culture Dose for Kids is an 8-week calming program geared towards supporting children aged 9-12 with mild anxiety and those who have been affected by natural disasters and their families. The program is limited to 15 young locals and one accompanying parent/carer.
The Gallery shares that the program is a great way to make new friends in a peer-group setting, look at several artworks, create art, and enjoy morning tea:
“Culture Dose draws on local art collections and The New Quilt exhibition, providing skills development for local art workers to lead sessions for their community and creating opportunities for meaningful long-term engagement,” the Gallery mentioned.
From Sunday, 12 May, the program will run until 30 June and be held every Sunday from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Participants can expect a structured session including:
- a guided viewing in the Gallery of three themed artworks.
- a morning tea.
- an open-ended art-making experience.
- each session closes by sharing the group’s ideas and artwork.
To apply for the creative program, visit the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery’s website: Culture Dose for Kids. The program will still accept applications until Sunday, 21 April 2024
The program is a collaborative partnership between the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Black Dog Institute, with support from the Jibb Foundation.
Maud Page, Art Gallery of New South Wales Deputy director and director of collections, said: “Culture Dose for Kids recognises the therapeutic benefits of engaging with art in a non-clinical setting and uses art’s transformative power to promote mental health and wellbeing.”
Dr Diana Macdonald, a Black Dog Institute doctoral researcher, said: “Culture Dose for Kids differs from other art-based programs, as it engages children and their parents in two parallel sessions that operate separately and together.”
The Hawkesbury Regional Gallery is on the Deerubbin Centre’s Top Floor, located at 300 George Street, Windsor NSW, 2756.
