Children and Family Holiday Events

Please note: All children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult during gallery activities. Children attending all day workshops should wear old clothes and bring a packed lunch. All events must be booked unless otherwise stated. Tel. 023 8083 4536

Summer holiday art activities

Bard-delicious: FREE Family Drop-in DAY
Sat 24 July / Drop-in between 11am – 12.30pm/ Art Gallery
What better way to celebrate this year’s Cultural Olympiad than by paying homage to one of the country’s greatest writers. Inspired by the visiting Shakespeare portrait join us to hear exciting short stories and create a mask and beard. In partnership with Southampton City Council Library Children’s Service.

Creatures from the Deep: Family Sculpture Workshop (5 +)
Tuesday 27 July / Two sessions: 10.00am–12noon and 1.30 –3.30pm Gallery Education Room / £6.00
Explore the art of sculpture and use exciting recycled materials to create a 3D sea creature inspired by ocean life.

Cast Away: Working with plaster (8 +)
Tuesday 3 August / 10.30am – 3.30pm/ Gallery Education Room / £15.00
Professional artist Liz Jones will help you create a miniature fantasy landscape complete with a plaster cast shipwrecked boat.

Ocean Magic: Family Workshop (5 – 8 years)
Monday 9 August / Two sessions: 10.00am–12noon and 1.30 –3.30pm Gallery Education Room / £6.00
Join artist Debra Marsh for this exciting mixed media workshop that will take you on an artistic voyage of discovery. Experiment and play with exciting art materials and techniques.

Animation Workshops (9-12 years)
Wednesday 11 August, Thursday 12 August: 10.30am–3.30pm/ Gallery Education Room / £20
One-day introductions to ‘stop-frame’ animation techniques used in film and television. Make, draw and animate your own creations with digital video cameras, computer and the help of film-maker Jed Gibbs.

Wobbly Waves: Family Sculpture Workshop (6 +)
Wednesday 18 August/ Two sessions: 10.00am–12noon and 1.30 –3.30pm / Gallery Education Room / £6.00
Think outside the box and create fantastic cardboard wave sculptures inspired by the sculptor Richard Deacon.

All aboard the Maritime Bus: FREE Family Drop-in Day
Wednesday 18 August / Drop in between 10.00am – 3pm / Art Gallery forecourt
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology's Maritime Bus has interactive displays, colourful information and hands-on activities for all the family, which makes learning about our maritime heritage possible for all.

Sea Fever: Family Printmaking Workshop (5 +)
Wednesday 25 August / Two sessions: 10.00am–12noon and 1.30 –3.30pm Gallery Education Room / £5.00
Get inspired by the gallery exhibition and create bold and beautiful prints of the seaside to brighten up your bedroom walls.

Southampton Cultural Olympiad Open Weekend
Veiled Emotion: Elizabethan Style Masks (14 – 19 years)
Saturday 24 July / 2.30 – 4.30pm/ Art Gallery / FREE but places must be booked in advance
A unique opportunity to combine art, literature and history. Using traditional and modern materials, you will create a convincing disguise for your true feelings.

Written in Blood: Book making (12- 16 years)
Monday 2 August / 10.30am – 12.30pm OR 1.30 – 3.30pm /Gallery Education Room / £6.00
You will make a unique personalized book to record your inner-most thoughts. Japanese pouch binding methods will be combined with press printing to help you customise each page.

Animation Workshops (13 - 16 yrs)
Friday 13 August / 10.30am–3.30pm / Gallery Education Room / £20
An introduction to ‘stop-frame’ animation techniques used in film and television. Animate your own creations with digital video cameras, computer and the help of film-maker Jed Gibbs.

Un-Writing the Un-Written: FREE Imaginative writing class (13+)
Thursday 19 August / 2 - 4pm/ Art Gallery / FREE but places must be booked
The Library of Un-Written Books is an exciting and intriguing art project that coaxes out the novel hidden in each of us. You will take away a specially created blank book and will be equipped with questioning techniques to entice your own inner book out into the sunshine.

From Soul to Song (14 - 19 years)
Monday 23 August / 10am – 12noon OR 1.30pm – 3.30pm /Gallery Education Room / £5.00
Have you ever found yourself doodling lyrics on the back of a serviette? International singer/songwriter Laura Vane will work with you to develop these skills from serviette to song. She will be passing on her experience and knowledge to the performers of the future. Laura has written and recorded with the Streets, Gnarls Barkley and performs across Europe with her band.