Hawkesbury Regional Gallery has just launched Culture Dose for Kids, a free arts engagement program supporting children with mild anxiety, developed as a collaborative partnership between the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Black Dog Institute, with generous support from the Jibb Foundation.
Among the first programs of its kind worldwide, Culture Dose for Kids is a calming and engaging eight-week program providing support to children aged 9-12 who are experiencing mild anxiety and those who have been affected by natural disasters, and their families.
Art Gallery of New South Wales Deputy director and director of collections, Maud Page said, “Culture Dose for Kids recognises the therapeutic benefits of engaging with art in a non-clinical setting and uses art’s transformative power to promote mental health and wellbeing”.
The program emphasises the calming, meditative aspects of art engagement to spark creative ideas and create social connections in a peer-group setting to build self-confidence.
The program fosters increased parent-child connections as a significant outcome. In addition, children are empowered through open-ended creative activities to connect to their feelings, thoughts, and imagination to build self-confidence and resilience. Comments from the parents suggest the program can create positive mental health outcomes that last beyond the immediacy of the program.
Black Dog Institute doctoral researcher Dr Diane Macdonald said, “Culture Dose for Kids differs from other art-based programs, as it engages children and their parents in two parallel sessions that operate separately and together”.
The Hawkesbury Culture Dose program has capacity for 15 local young people and one accompanying parent/carer. Culture Dose draws on local art collections and The New Quilt exhibition, providing skills development for local art workers to lead sessions for their community and creating opportunities for meaningful long-term engagement.
Culture Dose for Kids program at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery starts on 12 May and runs until 30 June 2024, every Sundayfor eight weeks from 10:30am to 12:30pm.
To apply for the Culture Dose for Kids program, please complete the application form at www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/gallery/whats-on/culture-dose-for-kids
The deadline for applications is Sunday, 21 April 2024.
