Istanbul Modern has prepared a series of entertaining and instructive art workshops for children aged 7 to 12 during the semester break. At the workshops, which will take place from Jan. 20 to Jan. 31, children will try to interpret art in the company of museum experts, while also creating their own artistic productions.
The workshop "Paintings and Costumes" will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27. At this workshop, children will push the limits of their imagination by working with colors, stains and various art materials. They will watch a presentation featuring examples of paintings by master painters and evaluate the historical periods and costumes depicted in the paintings. They will then design a costume on the rehearsal dummies and paint the figure wearing that costume.
The "Movements and Paintings" workshop will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28. At this workshop, children will have the opportunity to explore the movements of modern art history such as impressionism, cubism and abstract expressionism by experiencing artistic practices involving their own production processes. As part of the program, children will draw patterns in the exhibition halls of the museum and prepare their portraits with different perspectives based on their photographs taken in the workshop, creating pictures that reveal their feelings and thoughts. The workshop will introduce children to different art forms of self-expression.
The workshop "Mud Sculptures" will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, and from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30. This workshop invites children to develop their world of imagination by working with natural materials. As part of the program, children will design pieces from their own stories, as it is in the artworks of some of the artists featured in Istanbul Modern's exhibitions. Beyond their physical characteristics, children will look into their inner worlds and learn various kinds of unorthodox methods of the art of self-expression. They will embody their habits, their fears and their originality by giving form to the mud.
Scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 on Thursday, Jan. 23 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30, the "Printmaking" workshop invites children to interact with different printing techniques. The program will start with a short presentation in which samples from art history are examined. Children will then have the opportunity to apply what they have learned by painting linoleum molds and obtaining prints.
The "Mud Reliefs" workshop will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 24 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. The workshop focuses on the art of relief, which has a long history, and the architectural structures that are an integral part of this art. As part of the program, examples from art history will be examined and architectural images with these reliefs will be evaluated. The program will continue by acquainting the children with the techniques of raising or lowering the surface. The children will then create their own compositions with mud reliefs.
As part of the "Silent Film" workshop scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, children will form groups and make their own short animated films. They will listen to the script, adapted from William Shakespeare's romantic comedy play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," take on the roles and interpret the play. Photographs taken during this drama will be presented as souvenirs to the children.
The workshop "Architects of the Future" will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21. At the workshop, children will bring together specially crafted geometric forms and create a city. With inspiration from nature, they will analyze the nest of living things in functional, ergonomic and aesthetic terms and prepare city models that are compatible with nature for the future.
Scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the "Photo Collage" workshop will address photography as a contemporary art practice. The children will first tour the exhibition and then play with the photographic images prepared for them in the workshop. They will diversify, reproduce and rearrange photographic images at different angles to create a new composition.
The workshop "Analyzing a Work of Art" will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23. At this workshop, children will take from Sabri Berkel's "Abstract Composition," which is featured in the collection exhibition titled "In Pursuit of the Present." The workshop will start with a presentation focusing on the artist's biography and other works of art. During the exhibition tour, children will analyze the work based on basic art concepts such as color, composition and materials. Then, during the practice, they will combine and paint pieces of cardboard specially prepared for them, creating their own works of art based on the artist's work.
The "Paintings from Poetry" workshop will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31 and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24. At this workshop, children will explore the artwork by touring the collection exhibition "In Pursuit of the Present" accompanied by poems. After the exhibition tour, they will write poems inspired by Tristan Tzara, one of the founders of the Dadaism movement. The children will complete their poems by putting together pre-prepared words in the workshop and make paintings for the poems they will create.
