Family drop-ins: Make art in the Gallery!

Family Drop-ins

Saturdays 1-3pm

North Atrium

Free

Sessions are designed for visitors aged four and up - but all are welcome!

When materials meet busy hands and lively imaginations, an excited buzz can be heard on the family drop-in mat. Family drop-ins have become an integral part of Saturdays at the Gallery, with many families now regular visitors. You don’t need to book or bring anything with you – just your enthusiasm for making and sharing!

These free art-making sessions appeal to families (but children are not a pre-requisite, and our interpretation of 'family' is rather lateral) but are suitable for all ages. They provide a chance for active parent-child engagement and making art together.


Print your pet: Dry print making inspired by Andy Warhol's iconic work in Degas to Dalí

We suggest you turn up by 2.30pm as most activities require around 30 minutes to make an artwork. Often we encourage visitors to create an individual artwork which can for a short time between 1-3pm, become a larger collaborative work.



Miniature dioramas were inspired by Graham Fletcher's Lounge Room Tribalism series (2010), featured in the exhibition Home AKL. Before visitors took their creation home they were encouraged to place their 'room' next to others, creating a collaborative cardboard city.

Each week the motivation for artmaking is linked to the Gallery's collection and current exhibition programme. Here’s a montage of creations from past family drop-ins that celebrate everything from collection-based exhibitions such as Toi Aotearoa to special exhibitions such as Degas to Dalí.


Art inspired by exhibitions on display in the Gallery, including Reuben Patterson's Gazillion Swirl! (top left), a wide variety of NZ artists from Toi Aotearoa and the hugely popular touring exhibition Degas to Dalí

Mini lampshades inspired by Niki Hastings-Mcfall's Home Is the Sailor, Home from the Sea, 2012, from the exhibition Home AKL.

Art-making sessions are designed to provide enough direction for participants without being too structured or restrictive in how materials can be used (although we find constricting materials often produces surprising results!)


These magnificent 3-D paper sculptures were inspired by Max Ernst's mysterious work La Forêt (The Forest),  1927-28, from Degas to Dalí.

Sessions are facilitated by Gallery educators, who encourage visitors to share their innovations. Come along and spend a Saturday afternoon with us, we'd love to see you!

– Robbie Butterworth, Senior Gallery Educator and Viven Masters, Gallery educator