Where: NAR Cafe, Church St N16
When: May – Jul 2012
Topic: Parents & kids make art
Year group: early years

Commissioned by

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Is that an Octopus?

Art exhibition by parents & children of ‘Grasshoppers in the Park’ nursery

Our first major project – “Is that an Octopus?” presented the results of an artistic collaboration between parents and children of ‘Grasshoppers in the Park’ community nursery within a physical and virtual, public space. Working with the nursery staff, the families who attended the nursery and the management of cafe&bistro Nar, we curated an endearing art exhibition presenting interpretations on the art of upbringing. Paintings, drawings, collage and model making described family life in a compelling and candid way, sharing the intimate moments of parent / child relationships and the – often reassuringly comedic – outcomes which arise when we try to understand each other.

Learning in partnership with our children:

The creative process in collaboration reminded us of the rewards and challenges of being a parent…

“I find myself interfering perhaps more than I should – that urge to take control is difficult to repress.”

along with the surprises and excitement of a simple exchange of ideas and skills

“I like to be inspired by his drawings… I love the randomness and free lines”

The exhibition served as a potent reminder of the abundance of creativity in our everyday lives from cooking the dinner to answering that difficult question frequently posed by children – why?

Additional features to the exhibition included a website with space for public interaction. Visitors were invited to submit their own drawings of an octopus. The results were exhibited in our online gallery

The purpose of the exhibition was also to endorse the nursery’s long standing commitment toward instilling happiness and confidence in children, during their early years education, through creative approaches to learning.

The exhibition took place from 25th May – 31st July 2012 at cafe&bistro Nar, 35 Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 0NX

The Exhibits

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The Opening Brunch

Stats about this project

Applied art techniques