Remember that Spirograph you got for your 11th
birthday? I’m sure the artist will forgive me, but the current exhibition we
took a day out to see last Saturday at
Leeds Art Gallery by Australian artist - Nike Savvas:
Liberty and Anarchy, was quite like that. In a nutshell, it consists of huge,
psychedelic 3D shapes; think a magical family day out on acid minus the
comedown (or illegal shenanigans). Crafted on wooden frames, each piece holds
hundreds of individually placed, taut, plastic, brightly-coloured ribbons and
wool. Every structure has been designed according to an exact mathematic
formula. Quite remarkable really. A mixed bag of art and maths.
Most mums I have spoken with give me funny looks when they
ask about my weekend and I tell them we took Esmé to a gallery; they have the
impression of art being high-brow etc. But that’s a real shame and a loss to
themselves and their children. We’ve taken Esmé to a fair few exhibitions now
around Leeds, Manchester and Halifax, and she has loved every one of them; she
really takes it all in. This exhibition is so accessible, a great entry point
to those of the ‘What is art really?’ position. The structures are fun and
playful and even if you aren’t interested in art on a deeper level (whatever
that in itself means), you will see that they are a spa pampering day out for
the eye, which alone makes them worth the visit. Teenagers would also really enjoy this exhibition. It is
very much one for all ages. Oh, and you do realise it is a free day out, right?
Esmé was mesmerised by each of the pieces and kept
reaching her hand out saying “Dah, dah”, talking to them and smiling full of
wonder the whole way around. Mounted on the walls are black and white
high-contrast paintings which are really interesting for babies too, especially
newborns, who respond best to black, white and red. It is a great
way to visually stimulate them. There is a lot of space and light, which babies
love. And the exhibition is short. There are only two rooms, which is just the
right amount for them. You don’t want to over-do it.
Just to the left of the installation, there is a whole
children’s exploration space. Babies and toddlers can have
a good crawl around on the soft mat area and play with stickle bricks.
Esmé spent a good 20 mins wrapping herself around the large jellyfish structure
made from bright yellow ribbons hanging from the ceiling, which they can pull
at and crawl through. There’s also a small model similar to the 3D exhibit with
taut, coloured wool that they can push things through or stand up and pull on.
For the older toddlers and children, there’s a long
workbench where they can respond to the art they’ve seen. Plenty of markers,
good quality colouring pencils, wool and scissors are available for
them to make their own mini installations or to just colour and explore. There
are also mini exhibitions on display made by local school children such as art
galleries made from shoe boxes and cellophane, and a very cute line of coloured
strings and labels where they can leave their own messages for other children
to find. Questions about the exhibition are on the walls to get them thinking a
little more about what they have seen. There’s also a website where they can
upload their art. Children love seeing themselves published. So if you have
children of different ages, they can all be kept occupied at the same time.
There’s also a baby change in this area - really handy.
Come to think of it, even if I haven’t persuaded
you by now to venture to Leeds Art Gallery, and you want to stick to your
staple shopping day out, it’s
still a great, free place to just come and let your baby/ toddler have a bit of
a crawl around. Esmé always gets a bit tetchy if she is just carted
around from shop to shop for the day and I am always saying that every city
centre should have a free, soft play area to give them 30 mins break here and
there. Well, here’s a solution. You could even take it in turns to shop.
Most husbands would probably rather grab a take away coffee and sit here with
their smart phone while the baby crawls around, rather than follow you around
the clothes rails feigning interest in your new wardrobe.
It seems like I’m always including posts about coffee
shops, but let’s face it, a latté is the one thing that keeps us connected to
an ever-fainting memory of our adult selves. You’ll find the gallery’s café
just at the entrance. It’s spacious with a side area to park up plenty of prams
or you can even perch them with ease next to your table.
Just sitting in the room itself is enough to make you feel inspired, with
colourful tiles arching the ceiling, supported by impressive pillars. There is
a nice selection of hot lunches and cakes and a decent range of herbal, leaf
teas. I ordered a loose-leaf peppermint and when I dubiously only counted up £2
in coins, the waiter let me off the 40p I was short. He also heated up both
Esmé’s lunch and her sippy cup of milk in the microwave. Not a lot of places
will allow this due to health and safety. Often, they
will just offer a cup of hot water to place them in but I find this never heats
it up enough for Esmé and she refuses to eat/drink if it’s not warm enough, so
this was a huge tick for me.
To the right of the coffee shop, there is also the
Central Library. In there, you will find the children’s section. It’s
not very big but it’s cute and cheerful and a nice way to wind down after
the exhibition. I saw a sign for a Peter Rabbit storytelling week
with guest readers and events such as plant your own cress to take home etc. So
we will definitely be going back there (Esmé was knocked out in her pram by
this stage)
The exhibition runs until 24th February. So
do try to make it and if you do, drop me a comment on how you/your children
found it. If you can’t make it by then, there are plenty more exhibitions on
the go throughout the year as well as the permanent ones. Enjoy. You can find
the details on: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/Leeds-Art-Gallery.aspx
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