WOW factor
Looking for a sure-fire way to entertain your kids these holidays?
From 11-14 July, the Casula Powerhouse is running the Way Out West (WOW) Festival for Children – a free four-day intensive arts festival. The WOW festival is southwest Sydney’s only children’s festival, celebrating the involvement of young people in the arts.
Casula Powerhouse Director, Kiersten Fishburn described the event as hands-on, encouraging children to get involved in the festival’s many art-making activities. She said: “We’re hoping to bring the most interesting and creative art products to kids between the ages of 0 – 12. We hope that it’s an opportunity for all kids to get access to really interesting, engaging and quality arts experiences.”
Out of 12 different interactive exhibitions, one of the highlights this year is the premiere performance of Paper Planet by Polyglot Theatre: an interactive theatrical piece that creates an alternate universe out of paper. Fishburn said: “The kids essentially create their own paper universe full of animals, trees and plants – and they’re developing the art experience while they’re in this kind of theatrical moment. These kids are going to realize that they can be art makers too.”
One featuring artist that is no stranger to the Casula Powerhouse is little Jacquelyn Ngo from Green Valley. Jacquelyn is not your average 7 year old: with a string of her own art exhibitions and television interviews already under her belt, she is considered to be one of the youngest Australian ambassadors for contemporary art. Fisburn said: “She’s one of these child prodigies. I think people are going to be really taken aback, and I hope it lets them see that their own kids could be working towards achieving some amazing art things.”
Ngo will be delivering a talk about her experiences as an artist at the WOW festival, hoping to encourage other kids to get involved in the arts. She said: “I like painting because it’s fun and relaxing. I’ve been painting since I was three, and I think I’ll be painting forever. My paintings are about the Australian landscape – like when I went to Cairns, and about my primary school friends. If I could say anything to other kids that want to be artists, I’d say keep practicing.”
The WOW festival is completely free and runs for four days. Booking is essential for some activities, but there are still plenty of fun activities if you decide to drop by. Fishburn said: “They can turn up at any time, we’ve got a whole range of art and craft stations: anything from origami, to drawing, to paper-based crafts . . . There are lots of opportunities for them to make their own works.“
For more information head to the website: www.wayoutwestfestival.com.au
By Steph Nash
