BIG at Fringe World

Western Australia's 2013 Fringe World has taken over the city! There are circus tents on skyline rooftops, the giant sculptured wheel of Mechronos captivating passers by, real life mermaids beckoning, Spiegeltents and fairy lights, and a plethora of performances for kids of all ages. Last weekend we had our BIG team meeting for Issue 4 with Pippa and Luca in a grassed caravan outside the fabulous Lunar Circus Big Top.  The Perth team were once again brilliant in their navigation of the draft pages and inspired in bringing missing page links together and telling it like it is! With a continual text stream to Sydney, artworks were chosen, decisions made and a debrief of Game On! all rolled into one VERY hot days work! (40degrees). Following the meeting we enjoyed the Kids Comedy Gala - wonderful collection of artists all presenting at Fringe World, including the hilarious Mr Fatt and his  brilliantly irreverent band, the silent film comedy of Tom Flanagan's  Kaput (go see it!) and the endearingly talented Pitts Family Circus. If you are in Perth and have little ones, even an evening stroll through the cultural centre will provide a big night out - so much is there in the atmosphere, sounds, and energy of this incredible festival. A truly inspired and vibrant event. Don't miss it!

Luca and Pippa work responsively to try out the BIG artwork and projects of Issue 4 Into The Dark

Pippa responds live in the moment to Luca's dragon in celebration of Chinese New year

We loved meeting The Pitts Family Circus after the show. An awesome act side by side; father and son.

Mini magazine-makers in Sydney

The tiniest member of the BIG team and her mama recently set off across country on a LONG and magical flight for a girls own adventure in Sydney. Together, we spent six days arranging the BIG pages, seeing sights, having BIG meetings, perusing galleries and art stores, splashing waves, sticking, sculpturing, enjoying books and baby cino's, and watching players on the stages of the iconic Sydney Opera House. After seeing the not-so-imaginative 'Imaginocean', we were then guests at The Cat in The Hat  - a very life-like translation of the book indeed! The Creative Play interactive artist designed projects and storytelling after the shows were fantastic and gave the events a multi-dimensional feeling which is so great for sense-making and engagement! The girls loved the new outdoor area of the Opera House with Fruit Fly circus performing, stacks of wooden blocks and oversized lego to create with in the sand pit and on the grass - a very cool space for kids and their grown-ups too. Of course we were then entertained at home with impromptu plays inspired by the shows. The 2013 Kids At The House includes Andy Griffiths 13 Story Treehouse (loved by the BIG boys). Our picks are Miss Ophelia, Little Big Shots and The Man Who Planted Trees among other gems.

Side by side response play at The White Rabbit Gallery

The calm of worlds underwater was balm for us all

Amazing to watch our BIG babies grow into girls who have a LOT to say :) Mini magazine-makers!

BOOYAH! BIG meets MIMA

"Kids Inspire us. They are curious, impulsive, in awe of the world around them, whimsical and funny. We are awed by their ceaseless originality, courage and exuberance. The creative spirit inspires us. We are compelled by the impulse to imagine, the ability to conceive and actualize, and the discoveries that occur within the process of creating." Mini & Maximus

The Falling Icebergs owl from Issue 1 of BIG Kids Magazine has taken flight with the wonderful

MINI & MAXIMUS.  We are thrilled that Sophie and Megan stumbled across and LOVED our image enough to include it in their BOOYAH COLLECTION of very cool sweatshirts, t-shirts and a super cute onesie...(we have already got a couple of new mother-artists in mind for a BIG pressie!)

For a moment we wondered if this was the right direction for our BIG work as we have strong feelings about some contemporary fashion options for children that take them so far beyond their years, or strongly stereotype them by gender. We LOVE Mini & Maximus and as you can see they are far more than a fashion line -  drawing inspiration from children and artists, and creating an incredibly cool eco friendly product that is made for real life PLAY.

Watch out for a BIG Mini & Maximus giveaway COMING SOON!

Image by Lilly Blue
"He uses his words to protect
himself from falling icebergs" By Luca, age 9

From Issue 3 of BIG Kids Magazine
Game On! 

"We believe we are all in this together, that this world belongs to all of us, and that our choices should reflect our concerns for the future. We believe we all need to nurture and care for the world we share. We like the forefront. We like trailblazing and pushing ahead. We like shaking things up, thinking outside the box and re-considering the status quo. We like keeping things fresh, vibrant, playful and unexpected. We want to inspire the little rebels that have inspired us; the ones that smudge food all over their face, draw all over our walls, and always help us see the world around us in new way." Mini & Maximus

BIG on location at the WOW Festival

An early start saw us bundle the little Sydney BIG kid up and head off on a long car journey to WOW - The Way Out West Festival for Children at  Casula Powerhouse. Running until Saturday, WOW is a festival for kids that that connects directly and immediately with its audience through hands on art and interaction. Twyla had a brilliant time building a Paper Planet with the artists from Polyglot Theatre  and contributing to the Monsters Den that literally grew in front of our eyes. 

 It was a thrill to see our postcards super sized and to watch the response to our BIG mag on display. We are so excited to be beginning a conversation with the fabulous team at WOW and are already talking about a having BIGGER presence at next years festival!

'Paper Planet is a world filled with tall, strange cardboard trees, paper leaves, boulders, ponds and other mysterious shapes. Fantastic and unusual animals and birds hang from the branches and sit around the trunks.'

Building the Monsters Den

Spinning a Yarn - A Knit Plastic in Crisis Production

18th Biennale of Sydney - All Our Relations

Sometimes taking kids to large scale arts festivals is more thrilling in theory, and at times it is the train trip or ice creams that end up being the most memorable part of the day. It is a welcome surprise to come across a world class curated exhibition that not only welcomes the wild, curious, loud and generous spirit of children but also invites them to inhabit, translate, interact and contribute to the work in real ways. The 18th Biennale of Sydney absolutely surpassed our BIG expectations and lived up to its goals of provoking interaction, collaboration, shared experience and the telling of new stories.  


While the BIG Kids did love the free ferry ride to Cockatoo Island AND spent the first half an hour rolling down a small hill on arrival, we were unanimous in declaring it a brilliant day of immersive, interactive, unusual, inspiring and unexpected arts experiences. We had an absolute ball and will be returning for the School Holiday Program Monday, 9 July – Friday, 13 July (drop in 10.30 am–12 pm and 1–3 pm FREE!). You can download the kids audio tour here or pick up the Kids Trail activity booklet on arrival.

Ann Veronica Janssens
Daydream, 2012
"Is it okay for me to get really wet in here mum? I can't believe this, are you serious that someone made this for me to get wet in? How can someone actually make real mist? Is this magic or real?"
Twyla, age 3

Sriwhana Spong
Learning Duets, 2012
They swam in silk for a time finding each other through the soft of it
and becoming friends all over again. 

Ann Veronica Janssens
The sound of many hands pushing and finding mirrors of exchange with small fingers pressed into strangers and a shared rush of allowing and exploring and permission to enter the encounter all together, without restraint. So much joyous sound.

Phillip BeasleyHylozoic Series, Sybyl, 2012

Erin Manning
Stitching Time - A collective fashioning

Phillip BeasleyHylozoic Series, Sybyl, 2012
"Can you believe that this wing can
listen to my hand moving?" Twyla, age 3

In the cloud room. Dreaming

BIG at Bear Cottage

I loved personally delivering magazines today as part of our One for One scheme to the beautiful mama's at Bear Cottage.  It was an overwhelming experience to stand outside the gate and imagine the lives and stories I would meet inside. Bear Cottage is a hospice that provides palliative end of life care to children with life limiting illness and I was privileged to be invited to a Mothers day art workshop to talk about BIG Kids Magazine. During my time there I found myself thinking about the published page in a different way. The disruption of hierarchy and the importance of visibility and the physicality of the printed page took on a weighty and significant new meaning. Art as legacy. Story as lifeline. Shared experience as celebration of life lived. I left Bear Cottage feeling moved, challenged and uplifted. I called Jo as soon as I walked out to share the experience and reflect on the significance of our BIG work in the real world. The places that generosity can take us. The courageous individuals that offer so much in their silence, and with their stories. Overwhelmingly I found the environment beautiful and joyous. The walls were covered in children's art work, there was a train track on the ceiling and a friendly labrador called Frankie lying in the sunshine. Bear Cottage was full of life. 

Precious, fragile and robust. 

We are grateful to be beginning a new relationship with the extraordinary staff and families at Bear Cottage. We very much look forward to sharing their stories and perspectives in the BIG pages and on our blog. Thank you so very much for having us. 

'We can't add years to their lives, but we can add life to their years' Bear Cottage

Wet felting workshop with the wonderful art therapist, Megan

Just a stone's throw from Manly, Bear Cottage is a children's hospice that was established in 2001. Bear Cottage helps families cope with the impossible - to care for a child who has a life-limiting illness. To care for a child who is unlikely to see their 18th birthday, or their ninth birthday, or sometimes even their first birthday.

For the special kids that stay with us, there is no happy ending, no miracle cure.

This is heartbreaking to think about. But that's only part of the story. Even though the outlook for these kids is a sad one, Bear Cottage is actually one of the most uplifting and inspiring places you could ever visit. Here, children laugh and play. Life is celebrated, lived to its fullest and also fondly remembered.

Sharing the BIG pages

The Obliteration Room: BIG on Location at GOMA

"Can I really stick these anywhere mama, really?!"
Twyla, age 3

 Most people who are blogging about Yoyoi Kusama's Obliteration Room at GOMA in Brisbane say something about kids being given 1000's of stickers, but we were there, and we KNOW that it was kids AND grown ups going wild with colour and sharing the experience side by side. It was wonderful to be in a space where people were interacting with each other and their kids so openly, without distraction. Strangers were talking to each other and most devices were in pockets or handbags as everyone was so busy with the work of obliteration.

"I never thought there could be a whole table covered in spots!"
Twyla, age 3

"I wonder why everyone left the duck so lonely"
Twyla, age 3

Yoyoi Kusama's Look Now, See Forever is on at GOMA in Brisbane until march 11. There is also a wonderful page of Games for Kids where you can participate in a virtual reenactment of The Obliteration Room and lots of other very cool interactive play.