Children, let your imagination run wild

Artist Judy Darragh has collaborated with pupils to create a one-of-a-kind space, Hole of Yellow Archipelago. Photo / Supplied

Budding artists can create, draw and build at interactive installation at Auckland Art Gallery.

"The great thing about art is you can make anything that pops into your imagination and go into different worlds."

So says a Year 4 pupil in Andrew Te Aotonga's class at Balmoral Primary School. I suspect, like my daughter, he appreciates the kids' arts and craft TV show, Mr Maker. But is there anything a parent who's trying to make dinner dreads more than hearing the words, "Mum! Mr Maker is on TV and we can make a new artwork if you come now ... "?

When you have a budding artist/designer at home, there's always a project on the go which is likely to spread well beyond the limits of the dining room table or lounge floor.

Never wanting to discourage artistic endeavour, I've turned a blind eye to spilled paint, dried up balls of clay and half-finished guinea pig clothes (you read correctly). I've found space for paper flowers that pop up out of plastic cups, a haunted house crafted from a tissue box and cotton wool balls, and model dinosaurs at various stages of evolution.

Part of encouraging a love of visual arts is taking Miss 6 and Miss 10 to see art in galleries and other public spaces. Auckland Art Gallery's Creative Learning Centre, on the mezzanine floor, is a purpose-built space for children and families to have a go at making something themselves and, through that process, learn how art comes into being. Each year the centre renews itself by closing for a few days so a new installation by a different artist can be put into place.

The 2015-16 installation, Hole of Yellow Archipelago, opens today. In a gallery first, children have been actively involved in devising the design concept and making work on display.

The gallery's community learning team, led by Meg Nicoll, put together 8 and 9 year olds from Balmoral Primary School with artist Judy Darragh and TurnSpace Collective from AUT's spatial design department to change the room.

Having seen some of Darragh's work, the pupils opted for vivid colour because they liked the colours she uses - they said her work stands out and is noticeable - and they wanted to use everyday materials because it reflects the way she frequently recycles and transforms ordinary objects.

The result is a brightly coloured, immersive and otherworldly space where young art aficionados can discover, build and draw. There are vibrant yellow walls to be drawn on and, using pool noodles and pull-out/push-in pegs, sculpted; a hill to climb and a tunnel to explore under a mountain where weird and wonderful creatures - made by Balmoral Primary pupils - live.

It's most certainly a one-of-a-kind space; however, its design and the colours used are a definite nod to the Auckland landscape.

Volcanoes are represented by the hill; sloping walls and a slightly multi-layered floor covered in yellow vinyl look like the foreshore, especially in contrast to blue foam floor matting which is akin to the sea that surrounds us. It appears to be a series of islands - a yellow archipelago - and will allow young visitors to touch and work with materials, dream up new stories about what may happen in this land and, through future workshops, make art inspired by it.

The collaboration process has been captured on video which is showing Hole of Yellow Archipelago. I think Mr Maker may be taking a back seat these holidays while we work with the real artists.

Need to know

Hole of Yellow Archipelago opens today at Auckland Art Gallery until October, 2016. A drop-in arts and craft session runs until 3pm; free family drop-ins are held Saturdays 1pm-3pm and a full programme of activities is planned for the school holidays.