the colourists

What are 'the colourists' workshops?

 

‘The Colourists’ is a focused series of workshops on colour for kids in the Wellington region at the start of the school holidays, running for six days from Monday December 15 to Saturday December 20. The workshops give children the opportunity to meet and converse with active local artists, learning about what they do and why, and transforming a space into one complete artwork through collaboration during the workshops. We will explore one colour a day through sensory rather than purely visual means, pushing the scope of each colour with all its associations. With support from Wellington's 'Urban Dream Brokerage' platform, this process will be visible to the public – who can visit at designated times and have their own opportunities to participate in the pre-Christmas metamorphosis. Look out for 'People's Colour Roulette', where you can spin and play in a game of colour vs. sense. 

 

The workshops are as much for children interested in art and creation, as for the participating artists. It is a mutual exchange of ideas. We welcome children of different abilities to participate, including those with sight or hearing impairments, as well as learning difficulties. We will introduce the role of the 'maker' or 'creator' as well as different sensory ways to read and interpret colour, including texture, sound and smell.

 

Our goal is to create a temporary community of creators, children and artists alike in a neutral space, and have Wellington itself follow along.

 

Workshops will take place twice a day, each day, for two different age groups: 10-11am for ages 4-7, and 2-4pm for ages 8-12. Parents and carers are welcome to stay and participate also.

 

Why is it taking place in a vacant commercial space?

This is not your average workshop. It will be ‘visible’ to Wellingtonians and capture their attention. The project empowers children to be the driver of something with a public face.

 

What will it look like?

Really cool. This will be a totally kid-generated, colour-driven transformation of space. It’ll be curious, vibrant, probably a bit wacky, and delightful to explore. It will be a self-contained ‘world’ which adults and kids alike will want to step into. Using colour as the springboard, we will fill the space with colour using graphic, organic patterns and textures, handmade creatures and flora, and cityscape sculptural elements.

 

Who is running it?

Sophia McKinnon is a Wellingtonian and arts educator who has lived and worked in China for eight years. She has run a wide variety of cross-cultural workshops for museums and government organisations which link artists, children, creativity and experimentation. Previously she managed public programs at a museum in Beijing, as well as workshops for expat teenagers in the city. She has identified a format of workshops not yet seen before in Wellington and is very excited to see them come to fruition. She has invited local 'guest star' artists to participate so that children can ask questions about what, why and how they do what they do.