GI 2018 for Families

by Eilidh McCabe, April 27th, 2018

With bright colours and sensory stimulation in no short supply, you’ll stumble across plenty of shows that kids will connect with as you explore GI 2018. But if you don’t want to leave things to chance, here are a few family-friendly and child-focused exhibitions and events to look out for.

Photo: Tramway

Tramway Tryout Family Weekend
Sat 28 & Sun 29 April, 12-4pm, Tramway

These two days of hands-on creative fun have been designed to respond loosely to the themes underlying Tramway’s three Glasgow International 2018 exhibitions, by Kapwani Kiwanga, Mark Leckey and Tai Shani. All ages are welcome, and you can drop by whenever you want to take part in artist-led monoprinting workshops and 3D mosaic-making. With artists Tom Krasny (currently showing work for GI at Holy Wave) and Szymon Kula.

More about Tramway Tryout Family Weekend

Alys Owen and Beth Shapeero, LOOP, 2018

Alys Owen and Beth Shapeero –  Loop
Until Mon 7 May, throughout the SPT Subway

There’s a good chance you’ll encounter this show whether you mean to or not. For LOOP, Alys Owen and Beth Shapeero have brightened up the SPT Subway system with playful artworks including drawings and installations. If you’re lucky, you might catch one of the Friday performances held on the trains themselves, too – follow the link below for times.

More about LOOP

Early Learning First Workshop (2017). Courtesy of Alan Dimmick

Jedrzej Cichosz, Nick Evans, Charlie Hammond, Giuseppe Mistretta, Neil McGuire, Scott Myles, Toby Paterson, Edwin Pickstone, and Owen Piper – Early Learning
Until Mon 7 May, Scotland Street School Museum
Workshops every Sat

The artists and designers behind this show, curated by Mhari McMullan and Katy West, have collaborated with their own small children to produce the works on display. In addition, they’ll be holding art workshops for kids aged 3-8 for the next two Saturdays. On Saturday 28 April, Jedrzej Cichosz will lead a very fun, very messy collaborative painting workshop, while on Saturday 5 May, Owen Piper will offer an exploration of printmaking.

More about the exhibition and workshops

Interactive Digital Drawing, @UrsulaCheng

Louise Gibson, Ursula Kam-Ling Cheng, Diane Edwards, Sheena Leach – Transmuted Worlds Workshops
Weekends, until Sat 5 May, Clockwise, Savoy Tower

This series of workshops has been designed to accompany the Transmuted Worlds exhibition. Workshops with different focuses, led by different artists, take place each weekend. Children can learn to make art from disused household objects, practise digital drawing and speculative drawing, or make a sound mural.

More about Transmuted Worlds and its workshops

Mick Peter, The Regenerators, 2018. Photo: Hannah Logan

Mick Peter – The Regenerators
Until Mon 7 May, Dalmarnock Gas Purifier Shed

To create this enormous outdoor installation, Mick Peter worked with young people from across the West of Scotland. Walk alongside the 80-metre-long, cartoon-covered billboard that conceals the front of a disused industrial building and peep through the windows to see the funny and unexpected scenes inside.

Commissioned by Glasgow International, Year of Young People 2018 and Festival 2018 — the cultural programme of the Glasgow 2018 European Championship. Supported by Clyde Gateway and Glasgow School of Art’s Widening Participation Department.

More about The Regenerators

Nnena Kalu at Project Ability, 2018. Photo: Lam Shun Hui

Nnena Kalu
Until Sat 26 May, Project Ability

Nnena Kalu’s colourful, textural sculptures – created from tape, ribbon, wool and other household bits and bobs – are irresistibly visually appealing for people of all ages, and are sure to provide crafting inspiration for wee artists in the making.

More about Nnena Kalu’s exhibition

Elizabeth Hudson, experimentation on Common Ground Residency, 2017. Photo: Alexandra Huddleston

Elizabeth Hudson – May Day Trolley Joust
Mon 7 May, 3-4pm, Laurieston Arena

See off GI 2018 in an appropriately unruly fashion at the closing event for Elizabeth Hudson, Tim Sandys and Bobby Sayers’ Tilting at Windmills exhibition, held on the final day of the festival. The May Day Trolley Joust is very much what it sounds like: a Medieval-style jousting competition… in shopping trolleys. Anyone aged 12+ can compete.

More about the May Day Trolley Joust