Earth Explorers at The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children

Time: Various times

EARTH EXPLORERS - FREE EXHIBITION

Start Date: 21 June 2009
End Date: 15 August 2009
Venue: The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children
Time: 10am – 5pm (Tuesdays – Saturdays); 12pm – 5pm (Sundays)
Price: Free
Age Range: For all the family

This exhibition is designed to encourage you to explore your surrounding environment and inspire the creative potential in all you see.

Many playful activities are on offer to encourage you to engage with our exhibition. Hidden over two floors of The Ark are ten small imaginary worlds, creating a game of hide and seek. You can add to the exhibition by making a spin wheel. Hear different sounds and breathe in the smell of moss. You can visit The Ark again to see how the plants within some art works are growing and transforming. Our free activity sheets to further engage with the exhibition are proving very popular with all ages.

You are all invited to come and explore our environment.

THE GARDEN PARTY: WORKSHOPS AND INSTALLATION

Start Date: 21 June 2009
End Date: 15 August 2009
Venue: The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children
Time: 10.30am / 11.30am / 2pm / 3pm (Thursdays – Saturdays), 2pm / 3pm (Sundays)
Price: €4 / €3*
Age Range: 3 - 14 years

Make and plant your own piece of art in The Garden Party!

This summer, with your help and creative input, The Ark’s theatre space is being transformed into a bright and colourful landscaped “garden” complete with sound scapes and an outdoor feel! You can make and plant your artistic creation in our unique garden installation which will be evolving all summer long.

Join professional artists Liz Smith, Orla Kelly and Gina Faustino who will lead you in a thirty minute workshop. Using different artistic techniques you will create artwork inspired by nature and garden life. Choose from a range of workshops where you can make fruit, birds, creepy crawlies and even printed, felted or animal flowers.

Participate as many times as you like! The Garden Party offers different experience every time you visit. Join us and help to build our “garden” with your art!

The “garden” is open for you to view on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Earth Explorers from 10am – 5pm. See how our “garden” develops throughout the summer!

Book in advance or walk in for The Garden Party Workshop – only €4 / €3*! Tickets will be allocation on a strictly first come first served basis.

GREEN ANIMATION WITH ANIMATOR TONY DONOGHUE
An Animation Summer School

Dates: Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 August
Times: 10am – 3pm
Duration: 4 days
Age Range: 12 – 14 years
Price: €125 / €115*

Make your own animation – one frame, one drawing, one photo, one movement at a time.

Every day, working in a group, you’ll explore a different theme: sun, sea, soil and city!

Discover how to create environmentally friendly green animations, use natural elements and animate with reusable, recycled or found objects. Broken toys, old magazines, bottle tops, flowers and seashells come together to make animations that go beyond cartoons.

You will explore:
• What is animation?
• What in environmentally friendly animation?
• What is green animation?

DEVELOPING NATURE WITH ARTIST MHAIRI SUTHERLAND
A Photography Summer School

Dates: Tuesday 4 – Friday 7 August
Times: 10am – 3pm
Duration: 4 days
Age Range: 9 – 11 years
Price: €100 / €90*

Photography often focuses on the drama and details of our natural world. Discover natural processes of photographic drawing and developing through cyanotype or ‘sun pictures’.

Explore the creation of a print without a camera, hand made slide making and the projection of vividly coloured drawings. Travel on an exciting photographic journey from the early origins of photography to modern day techniques of digital imaging and photographic collage.

You will investigate:
• The textures and patterns of the world around you.
• An exciting range of photographic processes including
photographic drawing with sunlight.
• Environmental and sustainable issues, explored through photography.


SATURDAY WORKSHOPS

Kite Flights with artist Michelle Brown.

Dates: Saturday 25 July
Times: 10am / 12pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age Range: 3 – 5 years
Price: €10 / €8*

Come fly with us in our kite-making workshop! Inspired by the birds that we see in the sky everyday, you can craft your own wildlife kite to send your imagination soaring.

Sun Shots with artist Mhairi Sutherland

Dates: Saturday 1 August (9 – 12 years) / Saturday 8 August (6 – 8 years)
Times: 10am / 12.30pm
Duration: 1 ½ hours
Price: €10 / €8*

Make your own photographic prints through exposure to natural sunlight! You will use drawings and objects to create dramatic photographic images in the style of early botanical prints

Wings in Motion with artist Paula Henihan

Dates: Saturday 15 August
Times: 10am / 12pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age Range: 3 – 5 years
Price: €10 / €8*

Create a flutter-butterfly – experience bright colours, bold patterns and wings in motion! You can create your own fluttering butterfly and discover beautiful butterfly wing patterns.

SUNDAY FAMILY WORKSHOPS

Dates: 28 June – 9 August (Sundays)
Times: 12.30pm / 3pm
Duration: 1 ½ hours
Age Range: 3 – 103 years!
Price: €34 / €28* group of four, €10 / €8* per person

Why not bring your Mum, Dad, Grandparents, Godparents, Aunts, Uncles or friends to The Ark? Every Sunday during Earth Explorers is Family Day! You and your family will spend some valuable artistic time together, have fun with visual arts and create your own special piece of art!

The Ark’s Earth Explorers family workshops have been specially designed for all ages to allow your family group the unique opportunity to be artistic together.

* Concession price for students, senior citizens, the unwaged, those parenting alone and their accompanying children.

Producing a summer project with artists of this calibre would not be possible without the support of The Ark’s funders and supporters. The Ark gratefully acknowledges the support of the Arts Council in making Earth Explorers possible. Earth Explorers is part funded by Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism / An Roinn Ealaíon, Spóirt agus Turasóireachta and the project supporters are Exploration Station; Vodafone; The Community Foundation for Ireland; NCTE; and The Red Stables.

The Ark is also grateful to our other annual supporters: Department of Education and Science; National Development Plan; PPDS; Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Dublin City Council.

For More Information: http://www.ark.ie