School Holiday Workshops
Spring 2022
There’s something for everyone these Spring school holidays, with a range of workshops on offer for children, young people, adults and families across painting, drawing, sculpture, jewellery making, upcycling, production lighting and more.
Tap into your inner artist in the first week with Skye Andrew at a series of visual arts workshops inspired by nature. Paint wildflower pots, discover Matisse’s cut out techniques and paint magnificent rainbows and tropical jungles.
Get crafty in the second week with Marietta Zafirakos at a series of creative workshops all about hands-on making. Make your own jewellery with clay, repurpose old clothing, create prints with sticks, leaves and flowers and create a watercolour gift card for a loved one.
Join us on Saturdays for two one-off workshops presented alongside The Access Artybald Prize, a portrait painting competition and exhibition facilitated by Ability Options’ Front Up Studios, with Front Up Studios artists and finalists, Ebony Wightman and Jasmine Stanley-Dawson.
Think outside the canvas and sculpt a unique portrait using clay with Jasmine Stanley-Dawson and join Ebony Wightman to discover the art of fumage to create a ghostly artwork.
Then finally, go behind-the-scenes with National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) at an Introduction to Production Lighting short course.
Week One – Visual arts with Skye Andrew
Tap into your inner artist these school holidays with Skye Andrew at a series of visual arts workshops inspired by nature.
During the first week, join Skye to play with colours, textures and techniques. Paint wildflower pots, discover Matisse’s cut out techniques and paint magnificent rainbows and tropical jungles.
10.30 am to 12.00 pm
Tuesday 27 September to Friday 30 September 2022
The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
Ages 6-12
Materials supplied
Paint a pot
Tuesday 27 September 2022
$12 + booking fee
Get inspired by wattle, bottlebrush, waratah and other native plants and paint a unique design on a pot for a plant at home.
This workshop has passed.
Paint the rainbow
Wednesday 28 September 2022
$10 + booking fee
Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue…Paint a rainbow masterpiece and try and find the pot of gold at the end!
This workshop has passed.
Welcome to the jungle
Thursday 29 September 2022
$10 + booking fee
Welcome to the jungle! Discover monkeys, tigers, flamingos and all the other fascinating creatures hiding in the undergrowth as you paint a lush jungle landscape.
This workshop has passed.
Under the sea
Friday 30 September 2022
$10 + booking fee
Make like Matisse and create your own colourful cardboard cut-outs inspired by the wonderful world under the sea.
This workshop has passed.
Week Two – Get crafty with
Marietta Zafirakos
Get crafty these school holidays with Marietta Zafirakos at a series of creative workshops all about hands-on making.
In the second week, join Marietta to get creative with materials and techniques. Make your own jewellery with clay, repurpose old clothing, create prints with sticks, leaves and flowers and create a watercolour gift card for a loved one.
10.30 am to 12.00 pm
Tuesday 4 October to Friday 7 October 2022
The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
$10 + booking fee
Materials supplied
Make your own clay jewellery
Tuesday 4 October 2022
Ages 10+
Play with clay by experimenting with shape, texture and colour to create your own object or piece of jewellery.
This workshop has passed.
Upcycle – wear your art
Wednesday 5 October 2022
Ages 10+
Have some old clothing you’re ready to throw away?
Let’s upcycle by drawing, painting and decorating it to give it a second life.
Note: Please bring an old t-shirt along to work with
Print with nature
Thursday 6 October 2022
Ages 7+
Paint on sticks, leaves and flowers and other materials from nature to create artworks with unique patterns and textures. Sticks, leaves and flowers will be provided, but feel free to bring some from your own garden or neighbourhood!
Watercolour wonder
Friday 7 October 2022
Ages 7+
Explore the art of watercolour painting with unusual materials and make your very own gift card to take home.
Saturdays with Front Up Studios
These school holidays, create art in unique and experimental ways with Front Up Studios artists and finalists of The Access Artybald Prize, Ebony Wightman and Jasmine Stanley-Dawson.
These one-off workshops are presented alongside The Access Artybald Prize, a portrait painting competition and exhibition facilitated by Ability Options’ Front Up Studios in celebration of western Sydney’s most exciting, diverse artists.
10.30 am to 12.00 pm
Saturday 1 and 8 October 2022
The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
Ages 12+
$10 + booking fee
Materials supplied
Sculpt a clay portrait
Saturday 1 October 2022
Think outside the canvas and sculpt a unique portrait using clay with Jasmine Stanley-Dawson from Front Up Studios.
Learn the basics of how to make a face and head before personalising it to make a portrait of someone you know, a favourite character or even a self-portrait.
This workshop has passed.
Fumage art
Saturday 8 October 2022
Discover the art of fumage, a surrealist technique using smoke as the medium, to create a ghostly artwork.
Join Ebony Wightman from Front Up Studios to learn to dry etch with ash on paper, experiment with mark-making techniques and embrace the magic of working with this unpredictable and organic medium.
NIDA presents Introduction to Production Lighting
Lights, camera, action!
Go behind-the-scenes with National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) these Spring school holidays at this Introduction to Production Lighting short course.
NIDA returns to The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre to get hands-on and explore the ins and outs of lighting and stage production.
Led by NIDA teaching artists, this four-day program will give you the opportunity to gain experience and learn skills that are essential for a career in performing arts.
Family and friends will be invited for an open session on Friday 7 October at 2.30 pm.
10 am to 3 pm
Tuesday 4 October to Friday 7 October 2022
The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
Ages 15-21
Materials supplied
Bookings essential
Bios
Skye Andrew completed a Diploma of Fine Art at the National Art School, majoring in photography and painting, and has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout Australia. She has a passion for the outdoors and loves creating art experiments alongside her primary school aged son.
Marietta Zafirakos is a Sydney-based creative producer and facilitator. She graduated from Sydney College of the Arts, majoring in print media, before completing a Masters in Arts Administration. Her experience and interest lies in the process of art making within a gallery space. She most enjoys developing and facilitating creative workshops for children and families.
Jasmine Stanley-Dawson is a western Sydney-based multidisciplinary artist motivated by Feminism. She predominantly works with painting and drawing, creating intricate pieces embedded with poignant and personal messages. Jasmine’s autobiographical works depict a strong connection to the women in her family, objects from her past, and the meaningful relationships she has formed in her life.
Ebony Wightman is an emerging, multidisciplinary artist motivated by a thematic exploration of self-acceptance. Advocating for the intersectional rights and identities of autistic and neurodiverse communities, Ebony draws on a strong current of social justice, personal reflection and reimagining a more equal world.
Ability Options’ ‘Front Up Studios’ is a not-for-profit Western Sydney Arts and Cultural organisation. Front Up provides a vibrant and accessible studio space, workshops, and professional development opportunities for artists with disability, including those experiencing a mental health condition Ability Options founded Front Up Studios to facilitate the important inclusion of people with disability in the arts & culture communities, providing fair access, and opportunities for mentorship and ongoing career development.
Founded in 1958 as Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, NIDA is both Australia’s preeminent performing arts educator, and one of the most globally respected brands in its field.
NIDA’s unparalleled practice-based learning, connections to industry and culture of innovation have produced some of the world’s most influential and in-demand storytellers across stage, screen and beyond.
NIDA offers an unmatched range and depth of industry-relevant training across performing arts disciplines including: acting, costume, cultural leadership, design, directing, make-up, musical theatre, props, scenic construction, stage management, technical theatre, and writing.
Please note:
- Children under the age of 9 must be accompanied by a parent or carer who must remain on-site.
- For group bookings of five or more people, please contact Beth Sorensen, Marketing and Public Programs Officer at beth.sorensen@blacktown.nsw.gov.au.
- We do not provide art smocks and aprons for workshops, so please consider bringing your own or wearing clothes that can get dirty.
- No food or drink is currently available for purchase at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre. Feel free to bring your coffee or a snack while you are visiting The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre. Our nearest café is the Young Lions coffee cart, located 200m directly across the road from the Arts Centre on Flushcombe Rd with opening hours 7.15 am – 4.00 pm, Monday – Friday.
- Click here to plan your visit to The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre