The Museum of Cycladic Art organizes the 1st Cycladic Kids Festival on September 23 and 24 at the City of Athens Art Center, in cooperation with the City of Athens Culture, Sports and Youth Organization (OPANDA) and under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Children 4 to 15 years old are invited to participate in a creative weekend in the center of Athens – admission is free!
The 1st Cycladic Kids Festival is the culmination of the International Kids’ Art Contest by the Museum of Cycladic Art, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. The submission process of the contest under the title The Human Being at the Center, was completed on May 30 with 19.500 entries. A selected number of works and the winners of the competition will be presented during the large on-site exhibition at the City of Athens Art Center. Moreover, the park will be filled with theater, music and dance performances, cinema, puppet shows, book narrations, art workshops, multiple activities and board games for all family members on Saturday September 23, 11:00 – 21:00 and Sunday September 24, 11:00 – 18:00.
It is the first time that the Museum’s Department of Educational Programs hosts a multidisciplinary Arts Festival, outside of its premises, accessible to all children, in collaboration with the International Kalamata Dance Festival, the National Theatre of Greece, the Athens International Children’s Film Festival, the illustradays festival, Polyphonica, the Orchestra of the Winds, the Network for Children’s Rights, Library4all and other institutions. Inside the Center’s premises and at its gardens, parallel events shall take place where art groups and associate fine art companies representing different forms of art will deliver unique performances. Children and their families are invited to:
- Listen to Victoria Hislop, Lena Papaligoura, Pygmalion Dadakaridis and Antonis Papatheodoulou narrate their fascinating stories on the theme of “The Human Being at the Center”.
- Take part in a National Theater of Greece performance and get to know its little friends.
- Dare to explore their own bodies through the International Kalamata Dance Festival workshop.
- Build collaboratively a giant art project using the graffiti/doodling technique with the illustradays festival team.
- Learn about their rights through an art workshop dedicated to the book Do I have rights? Yes, I do!, released by the Network for Children’s Rights.
- Watch the first Greek 3D performance made of paper titled Daedalus and Icarus by the Afou puppet show company.
- Dance to the rhythm of music together with the Polyphonica team and the Orchestra of the Winds and watch a film from the Athens International Children’s Film Festival.
Kids are also invited to paint, print and design their own “Human Being at the Center” using different materials and applying various techniques, and, if they wish, bring along books that they wish to give away; in collaboration with Library4all and the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the museum helps equip school libraries throughout Greece! Therefore, it makes a call for books -either new or well-kept- for children 4-12 years old, in order to create a “resonating book wave” in the exhibition area of the City of Athens Art Center.
A few words about the 10th anniversary of the International Kids’ Art Contest of the Museum of Cycladic Art
The International Kids’ Art Contest by the Museum of Cycladic Art was launched in 2013 with 250 entries. The aim was to offer children between the ages of 4 and 15 (preschool children, primary and secondary school students and Special Schools students) the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Cycladic, Ancient Greek and Cypriot culture while also expanding their imagination.
Children are invited to participate either independently or through their school. The projects’ assessment and the selection of the winners is carried out by the judging panel which consists of influential figures in the fields of arts and culture. This year’s jury consisted of Victoria Hislop, author, Pygmalion Dadakaridis, actor, Eleni Geroulanou, teacher, author and founding member of Library4all, Hara Marantidou, visual artist, designer and architect, Antonis Papatheodoulou, children’s books author, and Panos Christodoulou, Director of the Network for Children’s Rights and children’s books author. Participants come from across Greece and the world, representing -among others- special education schools as well as refugee reception and integration centers.
The contest is supported and promoted internationally by the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassies and Consulates in major European cities, Australia and the United States and schools locally. This year, the contest received 19.500 entries.
