Air Camp

AIR CAMP WORKSHOPS

Air Camp is a creative workshop and performance that gives children the opportunity to explore and express important messages and perspectives. Children are invited into an otherworldly environment of colourful and interconnected tents, asked to think about what’s important to them and become the creator and caretaker of a tent sculpture that expresses their ideas. The activity touches on themes of sustainability and waste, the crossover of engineering and art, and most importantly emphasises children’s agency. Outcomes include confidence communicating ideas, new ways of creative expression, fun new skills in engineering inflatable sculptures, and the opportunity to exhibit their work to friends, family and the wider public. First delivered at Art Play in Melbourne in April 2019, this is a proven engaging and validating experience for children.
All fabric material has been sourced from abandoned camping tents collected by Memetica at music festival around the country.

 

Workshop Structure

Duration – three days of 6 hours preferred, two days of six hours feasible (includes breaks)
Capacity – 12 children (or 15 if an additional personnel member is provided by host)
Age – 9 to 12

Air Camp is delivered by four art facilitators and with its low ratio of children to facilitators promises a great amount of contact and communication. Children will first engage in broad group conversations and activities about themes that are important to them – anything from climate change and confidence to food and cats! Participants then refine their ideas and decide what theme they’d like their own unique tent to highlight. With the support of facilitators, they shape, decorate and construct small inflatable sculptures to attach to the tops of inflated tents, simple distillations of their idea. As a final touch, the world of curated tents will be connected by air filled ducts, and lights added to illuminate children’s sculptures from within. For the outcome exhibition, the children will present their work to a public audience. Participants will be given a microphone and step into their tents; from within, they can speak to audience members standing outside about what they’ve created, an anonymous performance that’s fun and freeing.

The Air Camp workshop can be delivered within two six hour days if necessary, however a three-day experience leaves more time for play and exploration for the participants. Regular breaks are included within the six hour days. Parents or guardians are not required to be in attendance.

 

Requirements (provided by Memetica)

  • A large 9 x 6 x 5 mt inflatable tent to host some of the workshop sessions.
  • Small inflatable tents for the children to add their own sculptures to and to inhabit during exhibition;
  • Blower fans x 2 (240 Voltage)
  • Lights for internal illumination of sculptures
  • 8x karaoke microphones
  • Fabric material (recycled) for the creation of sculptured
  • Double sided sewing tape

Requirements (provided by presenter)

  • A large venue, preferably internal but a well sheltered external venue also works, that has capacity for the inflatable tent world. Power is essential. The venue should ideally also have a separate making space for the construction of the inflatable sculptures. The team will need access to the venue three hours before the workshop to set up the tents; if it is possible to access the venue and set up the day before this is preferable.
  • Six workbenches (e.g. 2x1m trestle tables, or similar)
  • Chairs
  • 48 x shoot-bags (to weight down inflatable tents)
  • 3 Sewing Machines

Other requirements (provided by presenter or Memetica upon agreement)

  • Sets of scissors for adults and for children
  • Permanent markers (assorted colors)
  • Manila folders
  • Drawing/sketching paper
  • Print-out of templates

 

Staff/personnel

The workshop is run by four artists/facilitators plus one resident staff; Costs can be reduced if two volunteer facilitators can be provided by the host, meaning Memetica provides only two facilitators (including lead artist).

If any first-time facilitators are provided by the host (so as to increase the number of possible participants), they will need to allow for 30 minutes briefing before the children arrive.

Air Camp Draft01 from Memetica on Vimeo.