Curious map-making and a stunning artist redefining pathways

Chuckery by Alexandra Harrison
"He will wish you good day and then ask "Do you want a reply slip"? Which of course, you do, and it will say "Don't drive cars ride bikes,"  and after that your feet will have wings.

The landscape of magazine-making trips up conventions of time. All at once we are still following trails of edition two: Treasure Maps, proofing pages for edition three: Game On! and finding our way so fast Into The Dark with edition FOUR (and we will not mention the seedling sprouting for edition FIVE...no we won't!)

Suffice to say it has been a BIG few weeks.  Circumnavigating the time difference planning from Perth to Sydney, we enjoyed a quick collision in Melbourne to watch the performance work of Treasure Maps artist Alexandra Harrison in her futures festival of "What's Coming". Her divine portrait maps, as featured in our current edition were part of the set design and the actual magazine even made a cameo appearance in her performance lecture! BIG is now available for sale at Dancehouse. 

BIG idea: Turn an old map into the most curious face you can imagine. Cut along old roads, rivers and train lines to create a new portrait and then give it a name.

A new BIG word from Alex:  Hodology

 "I fell in love with it when I heard it. Hodology is the study of pathways"

Maps choreograph. 

What does a future map look like?

Can you dance before you know where you are?

Can you know where you are and still dance?

Excerpt from the performance lecture There is No Line by Alexandra Harrison and David Turnbull

All photographs by Emma Fishwick

Alex Harrison in "What's Coming" 

What are the top three skills you need in this (theatre)industry?

I think curiosity, rigor and endurance

What advice would you give anyone looking to break into your field?

It’s a field – you don’t need to break in – you just need to wander over

When do you know you’ve made it?

 There is no it. There is no arrival or there are constant arrivals – and departures. And if there is an it, it’s not about never being satisfied and it’s not about constantly measuring success – it’s about cultivating, following and sharing your interest. It’s about being interested. And continuing. (Profile of Alexandra Harrison, Arts Hub, 7/12)

BUZZ Dance Theatre

What kind of treasure do you look for in a dancer? 

"Somebody who can tell a story. It is not about how high they can kick their leg!" Cadi McCarthy, Artistic director of BUZZ Dance Theatre.

In the current issue of BIG we interview the artistic director of Buzz Dance Theatre, Cadi McCarthy who is now days away from giving birth to 'twins' - one a real live baby and the other a new dance production called "Fragile". The BIG boys - senior ed and his sidekick - will be at the Perth opening on Saturday night and are looking forward to the puppetry and animation aspect of the dance. Fragile deals with issues of bullying and how game play can help to find a positive way forward and features dancer Peter Fares who shares a bit of his BIG life as a dancer here:

Peter Fares, photo by James Welsby

First ever dance? Breakdance/hip hop routine in the middle of a Wildcats (Basketball) game in front of a huge crowd!

When did you know you wanted to be a dancer? I was in year 10 at Rossmoyne Senior High School and saw all kids having heaps of fun. Charise Parnell used to have session for boys at lunchtime and we ended up performing what we made.  Then I did one year of Business at uni while dancing with Steps Youth Dance Company before moving to study dance at WAAPA.

If you could grow up again and be something different what would it be? A visual artist even though I am really bad at drawing!

How do you manage your Dancing days? I am very good with how I plan my lifestyle as a dancer. I always make time to do my own thing. Lots of dancers keep their mind on dance 24/7 but I back away for a bit and enjoy the holidays!

What do you treasure most in your life? Friends and family and especially my mum.

See Peter perform in Fragile from June 16. We can't wait!

Bravery is being a strong person in your mind.

Imagination is experience.

Generosity is love. 

SUBSCRIBE to BIG Kids Magazine - Featuring kids and artists side by side!

Creative Ideas for Contributing to Game On! EDITION 3

The BIG Treasure Maps edition is flying all over the world and now it is time to send in your ideas and artwork for the next (THIRD!) issue of BIG Kids Magazine - Game On! 

This is what's inside my brain when I play
Aimee, age 4, Brisbane

We want to make contributing to BIG Kids Magazine as easy as possible.  Here are the first of some BIG ideas for supporting your kids to understand the process of responding to the theme of Game On! and helping them enter into an open ended creative process in which they are also guided by simple parameters. Feel free to collaborate with them or create your own work Side by Side. 

- What is your favourite game of all time? Close your eyes and imagine playing the game. Imagine winning. Imagine losing. Draw the inside of your brain or heart when you are winning and/or when you are losing.

- Create a brand new game character that no one else has thought of. Does it have a name? What invented game is it from? 

 - Draw/paint/collage/dance/write your response to a character from a game you love - the Horse, Castle or Queen from Chess, a snake from Snakes and Ladders, the 'Chance' man from Monopoly...

- Close your eyes and draw shapes and lines all over a page. Open your eyes and make up the rules of the game you have just drawn. 

- Think of something you would like to learn. Make up a game that would help you learn it. 

- Write a story about the scariest, funniest or cleverest game ever invented. 

The GAME ON! Edition - Play every page

Submissions due by JUNE 1st
If you are an artist or child who wants to register for the Child Artist Response Project (CARP) send and email to submit@bigkidsmagazine.com with CARP in the subject line

Side by Side: Father and Son: Wandermonster

The creative projects we come across in our BIG reach out around the world are quite something. Rob Kimmel is a designer and dad to 8yr old Ben. For years he has been sending a yellow sticky note in Ben's school lunch box with a provocation his son completes each day to surprising end!

We are thrilled to present this truly responsive work and introduce you to Rob's Wandermonster blog which features their daily before and after micro-artworks. In the BIG pages there is the opportunity to complete your own sticky art notes and this page was one of the first senior editor Luca and his brother took their pens to with much hilarity and great discussion.

The Lunch Posts on Wandermonster from rob ben on Vimeo.

BIG Kids Magazine Page 23: Wandermonster

Send one in your child's lunch box today with a little pencil attached with blutack for instant schoolyard responses!

IDEAS for Map-making and contributing to BIG

BIG Kids Magazine is for everyone. Art is for everyone. Everyone can contribute. Grown ups and kids. Artists and gardeners and pilots and kindergarten teachers. Everyone.

We want to make contributing to BIG Kids Magazine as easy as possible.  Here are some ideas for supporting your kids to understand the process of responding to the theme of Treasure maps and helping them enter into an open ended creative process in which they are also guided by simple parameters.

Map to the Land of Islands
Twyla, age 3

 - Think about all the things that are really precious to you. What do your care the most about? Think about all the treasures that are already in your home. They might be toys, books, art works you have created, family, friends, photos, things you have collected, secrets, memories, dreams. Now draw a map of your home showing all these "Treasures" that you have been thinking about.

- Think about a dream you can remember. Draw or paint an outline of your body and then draw everything you can remember about your dream inside your body. This is like a map of your dream. You could draw all the things you wish for inside your body too.

- Collect twigs, leaves, petals, stones, dirt and other things you can find in your garden, or on a walk around the block. Now make shapes and patterns with all the things you have collected. Take a photo.

- Draw 100 lines across a page in wax crayons. Paint water colours or food colouring mixed with water over the lines. What is it a map of? What does it remind you of? Do the lines lead anywhere?

- Choose a marker that is your favourite colour today. Draw one line on the page without taking your pen off the page. It can be curvy, wavy, jagged, rolling, spirally or zig zag. Now hold the paper in your hand and see if you can walk following the line you just drew. Where do you end up?

- Photocopy a real map of a place you have been. You could find one in an old ubd or atlas. Paint pictures of all the things you can remember about being there. You could look at photographs from the trip to remind you, or it could be somewhere you went this morning. Write a poem about all the things you remember about being there. It could be a map of Italy or a map of your local shops.

- Write down everything you eat and drink in one whole day. Get someone to draw around your body on a huge piece of paper and then draw or paint all the food filling up your body. You can draw your lungs and arteries and skeleton too.

- Think about someone you love. Write down all the things you love about them. Cut up all the sentences you have written and paste the words onto a new piece of paper however you like. They could be upside-down or sideways. This is a word map of someone you treasure.

- Write a list of fantastical list of directions to get to a secret place of your imagining and instantly create a micro-map poem!

Map to a secret place no one can know about
Twyla, age 3

Send your work to submit@bigkidsmagazine along with the submission form found here. Ideally we would LOVE your contribution by Jan 14th but the final cut off date is Jan 30th. All suitable contributions will be published on the blog or in the pages of the magazine. We have received some very wonderful maps to where we never expected and can't wait to add your directions to the mix! Be brave and have fun!