NGV's popular, FREE 11-day Kids Summer Festival

The 2016 NGV Kids Summer Festival will see cats and kittens in the Great Hall, a demonstration of 1960s Warhol-era hair dos and the creation of a large-scale paper flower mural inspired by Ai Weiwei, amongst a host of free activities at NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 16 – 26 January 2016, 10am-3pm.

Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV said, -The Kids Summer Festival has become one of the most popular kids and family events at NGV, with more than 14,000 children participating at NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia last year. The festival is always a wonderful opportunity for our younger visitors to explore our exhibitions in an interactive way, meet local designers and artists and develop their creativity and inspiration through a range of free participatory activities.'

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said, -The City of Melbourne is pleased to support the NGV Kids Summer Festival which provides children with an introduction to the arts. Parents who are looking for new ways to keep their kids entertained over the summer holidays can bring them along to this outstanding event where they can explore their creativity.'

To celebrate Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei's shared love of cats, children can make kitten finger puppets with bloggers Meetoo and tiny & little and try their hand at illustration in the Draw a Cat with Kat activity, with illustrator Kat Chadwick.

On Australia Day, vintage style guru Candice DeVille will demonstrate the kinds of 1960s hairstyles popular during Andy Warhol's time and the Young Australian Broadway Chorus will bring a taste of America to the Great Hall with a range of show tunes. During the festival, one-man-band Uptown Brown will also entertain with a range of instruments including trumpet and drums.

Designer Laura Blythman will use paper shapes in neon colours to decorate printed vases and ice cream cones in a colourful collage workshop in the Great Hall and children can work with Meet Me at Mike's crafter and blogger Pip Lincolne to create a mural of paper flowers over the first days of the festival, which will remain on display for the duration of the festival.

In the NGV Garden children can learn about organic food and the environment and plant their own seeds in a take-home bag with The Sage Garden or create a cute bottle brush and possum using the same material found in the John Wardle Architects' pink Summer Architecture Commission structure. This activity, developed in collaboration with Megara manufacturers, explores how the environment informs design through a colourful making activity.

At NGV Australia, on various days, children can learn to screen print with Home-Work Studios' Jess Wright and Lara Davies, creating a set of take-home tea towels inspired by the imagery in Lurid Beauty: Australian Surrealism and its Echoes or decorate a papier mache pot evoking the colourful terracotta pots made in honour of each of the Australian Rules Football teams in Our Land is Alive: Hermannsburg Potters for Kids. Children can also learn about some of the most interesting works from the NGV's Australian art collection in a special guided tour with Australian art curator Rebecca Edwards.

The NGV wishes to acknowledge Tim Fairfax AC and Gina Fairfax for their generous support of Studio Cats: Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei for Kids and the Dewhurst Family for their generous support of Our Land is Alive: Hermannsburg Potters for Kids.