Great Play-ces Beady Eyes and little fingers! *how to take the tinies to places like a gallery

I will help you to know how to take the tinies to places like a gallery.

First of all it’s a place to enjoy not revere, galleries and museums are open to children learning through play and many artists work to engage the young into gallery spaces so it is no longer a place of scary stuff. But there is a balance of respect so how do we manage that with beady eyes and little fingers? Mmmm

I recall taking Gracie to a contemporary art gallery and we attended some workshops I let her mingle with the group even though many guardians were holding their children tightly because I wanted her to know that strangers are okay, just not all strangers and I wanted her to have confidence. So in the workshop room we prepared for each visit to the galleries, and when in the galleries I let her roam, but not too far. Language is the best harness, basically you just make everything logic, eg “we don’t do ‘that’ we do ‘this’ here” and it’s just instructions to follow because they are learning the logic, and yes you will have to repeat yourself, as Ann Rea says “Repetition is an iterative process”

So basically a lot of workshops were about movement and in the gallery we were led into creating a structured theme and went to exhibits relevant to that instruction. Gracie loved it. There was one movement we had to do in the gallery that meant I had to act quick so I just picked her up and jumped about and she loved it, we had a ball... she was so happy!

And then at an independent gallery we were the only one of two gallery visitors there and Gracie had a ball! She had a great time exploring my artist friend’s works and she had a great time and got a bit scared at some noises from a mechanical record player but she experienced the art and a bit of grown up space. In the video in the gallery she squealed in delight!

Enjoy your time with your tinies they’re amazing at helping to realise the importance of every moment! Involve them in as many places as possible so they gain confidence and joy.