Kids' APT7 : In review

39 KIDS’ APT7 AT QAGOMA TIFFANY CHUNG ONE DAY THE BIRD FLIES ACROSS THE SEA 2012 Vietnamese artist Tiffany Chung translated her interest in ecological and environmental issues — a subject of interest to many children — into an innovative activity based on drawing and storytelling. one day the bird flies across the sea invited visitors to view a display of small coloured glass animals, including farm animals, bird life, insects and wild creatures. Children were then encouraged to use the different animal configurations featured in the display for inspiration to draw their impressions and write a story about their menagerie in a palm- sized booklet, creating a keepsake of their visit to APT7. Children creating their own story while viewing Tiffany Chung’s one day the bird flies across the sea 2012 / Proposed gift to the Queensland Art Gallery Collection / Photograph: Brad Wagner The different colours of the glass animals in one day the bird flies across the sea have been used because a child’s imagination has no limits. As adults, we tend to only believe in facts and lose the ability to imagine, while children can let their imagination go wild. This is why children don’t seem to get bored of making art. There is such freedom in letting go of what we think we know and to instead believe in the unbelievable. Tiffany Chung For me, a highlight of Kids’ APT7 was working with local school children in the art trials. The template style of Tiffany Chung’s one day the bird flies across the sea and the double-headed mask in Hahan’s Memento masko were largely inspired by the students from West End State School. It was incredibly rewarding to see the artist projects evolve from the original proposals — through a number of testing phases — to their final incarnations in Kids’ APT7. Jacqueline Tunny, Assistant Public Programs Officer