This August, MK Gallery’s Project Space plays host to A Game Played in the Gallery Over Two Days, an exhibition made by children using objects gathered by adults.
The exhibition will explore children’s play and the way that we all interact with objects and space through an improvised ‘game’ played by three children. The final exhibition will be constructed through a process which is expected to be flowing, fraught and funny, absorbing the children completely as they arrange the objects given to them.
The three children who will construct the exhibition are part of Townley and Bradby, a collaborative family arts practice that explores the emotional intensity of family life. Townley and Bradby do this in amongst the domestic routine: games, dances, sayings and arrangements of objects are recorded as they happen within the family.
They have created this exhibition in collaboration with artists Georgie Manly and Sarah Wright, and on display will be films made with artist Miles Umney. Townley and Bradby have been commissioned by MK Gallery as part of City Club for a two-year project, Playing Out, to explore Conniburrow and Central Milton Keynes. With Georgie Manly they have begun to
consider ways to occupy Conniburrow’s outdoor spaces, offering for example ‘Child-led Tours’ and the repurposing of objects through planting.
Speaking of the exhibition, Tara Page, MK Gallery Learning Manager said: "This exhibition highlights the incredible value of children’s ideas and the important role that adults play in listening and trusting in them. Children are creative beings who have a right to play and we’re delighted to be able to create a space for Townley and Bradby to explore this collaboratively. We’re also very excited about the children’s involvement in creating events for other families to enjoy; we hope that these events created by children, for children, will inspire families to play together and celebrate the idiosyncrasies of family life.”
Alongside the exhibition there will be a full month of family-friendly creative activities to get involved in. On Wednesday 2 August from 11am-4pm, Townley and Bradby lead a DIY Dress Up session at MK Playday in Campbell Park. Using a selection of clothing and fabrics families are invited to adapt, combine and play with the materials on offer in order to create wildly new and inventive costumes. The Townley and Bradby children takeover the Gallery’s weekly Saturday Studio sessions this month with intriguing artist-led activity from 1-3pm through which you are invited to join in, explore, question and create whilst working together as a family. And on Friday 18 August from 12noon-3pm, there will be a special summer holiday workshop Playtime exploring the themes in the Project Space exhibition in playful and unusual ways.
A Game Played in the Gallery Over Two Days, runs from 3 – 26 August. Admission is free. There will be an exhibition preview on Wednesday 2 August from 3-5pm to which all are welcome. For further details please visit www.cityclubmk.org and www.playingout.co.uk.
