Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)’s 2018 Out of the Box Festival for children eight years and under officially opened Tuesday 26 June, with the five day festival will run at QPAC until Sunday 1 July (excluding Friday 29 June).
Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch opened the festival and said it was a great opportunity for Queensland children to engage with amazing arts experiences, to sing, dance, move, play, paint, create and imagine.“With ongoing support from the Queensland Government for more than 25 years, Out of the Box has presented quality performance and cultural activity that celebrates and supports learning, play, and discovery for children,” Minister Enoch said. “Since the first Out of the Box in 1992, the biennial event has engaged more than one million participants and 3721 artists. It has presented 1534 performances, 2335 workshops and 9461 activities.”
QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas believes the delivery of the biennial Festival and associated community engagement activities connects children with a variety of arts experiences. Also, a great example of how QPAC inspires our community to talk about broader issues in the world today.“There are programs at this year’s Festival like The Arrival, Home, Here I Am, Little Yawar, that address some big themes – the idea of home, refugees, history and how we see ourselves. The fact that they are big themes doesn’t mean we should shy away from talking to our kids about them,” said Mr Kotzas.
Some of the in-theatre highlights of the festival include Air Play – a large-scale circus-style spectacle that brings to life the very air we breathe, Slapdash Galaxy, an epic quest across the Galaxy, and Our Corka Bubs, an Aboriginal contemporary dance work for babies under two years and their carers.
Other activities include Dance …Like No One is Watching, a giant dance party and Guru Dudu Silent Disco Walking Tours with headphones.
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