Features

A messy business

Getting their hands dirty is the best way to engage small children with the arts, Jennifer Raingold reveals.

Arts Professional
3 min read

A toddler paints on a window

Engaging very young children is no mean feat. How do you capture their attention? What makes them giggle with joy and wriggle with excitement? artsdepot programmes a range of activities and events specifically aimed at engaging early years participants and audiences. These include regular Sunday performances for children, many of which are aimed at very young audiences. Incorporating courses, holiday activities and play days, the family and early years programme aims to integrate play and learning. Our family-friendly venue also includes a soft play area which is always popular. It allows parents to socialise in an informal environment whilst children rough and tumble with foam shapes. Soft play is a great opportunity to introduce parents to our venue and is often the first step in encouraging them to engage with our early years programme.

Designed to encourage creative play and experimentation in a mess-friendly space, Messy Play is one of our most successful early years courses. The concept was developed by art-worker Katerina Fotopoulus, in conjunction with artsdepot’s education and programming team. Tom Wilton, Education Officer, recalls: “Messy Play came from a desire to set up a specialist early years art programme. We wanted to create an arena where early years children could explore art ideas freely, at their own level. The great thing about Messy Play is that it engages parents and carers as much as the little ones.” Today, artsdepot runs five Messy Play sessions every week, for children from six months to four years. The classes introduce parents and children to a new art concept each week, through colour, texture and play. The aim is to encourage social, physical and artistic development. This week, parents and children are exploring the basic rule of sculpture, by adding and removing pieces from made objects. This activity is designed to improve the children’s spatial awareness. Any early years programme is concerned with how to keep children stimulated. Katerina ensures there is variation within each 45 minute session by having different activities going on. Apart from a group hello and goodbye, parents and children are free to play how they wish around the room.
Since its inception, Messy Play has evolved to promote independent decision-making amongst children, whilst encouraging parents to take an active role in creative play. Whilst parents welcome being in a space which is not their home (a space where mess is embraced!), the children benefit from broader boundaries and a more relaxed play environment. One parent describes the value of Messy Play: “I have discovered new ways of playing with her, and I even bring these ideas from the class back home with me. She’s become more confident, her hand-eye co-ordination is improving and she’s developed social skills at an age when there isn’t very much opportunity to help them socialise.” Apart from relieving parents of the burden of tidying up, Messy Play has provided new ways to engage early years with art concepts and with artsdepot as a venue. However, our objectives do not stop there: artsdepot has a range of courses and classes for older children, and is currently developing its programme of shows for age five and over. Engaging early years is only the beginning.