PLAY DATES | Summer School Holidays 2025-2026

10-10.45am Monday 7 – Friday 30 January 2026 (excluding 14, 15 & 28) | FREE, bookings required

Jump into the off-beat world of Re-PLAY at The Art Gallery of Western Australia with a series of dynamic, artist-led workshops designed especially for children and their families. Inspired by the bold colour and energy of Re-PLAY, these workshops offer a chance to collaborate and experiment with ideas through the art of play.

Led by professional Teaching Artists, participants will explore repetition through pattern and colour, assemblage of unexpected materials into poetic sculptures, and re-imagine everyday discarded objects into new forms of beauty. These workshops encourage kooky thinking and hands-on participation exploring how artists harness play as a powerful tool for creativity and connection.

Perfect for children aged 5–12 and their grown-ups.

10.30-11.10am, 11.30am-12.10pm & 12.30-1.10pm Wednesday 14 & 28 January 2026 | FREE, bookings required

Jump in and be magnetised!

Join Maxxi Minaxi May, collaborating artist for the Re-PLAY exhibition, in a dynamic school holiday hands-on workshop focused on design and creation. This workshop is all about igniting imagination, encouraging expression, and exploring hands-on FUN. Families can dive into the world of dot-inspired patterns using vibrant marker pens. Transform your personal designs into circular magnets using a badge maker. This activity is a chance to discover your artistic spirit and leave with your own spotty masterpieces to take home!

There is a limit of 20 participants per session.
Workshop includes a short artist talk and demonstration.
Recommended for ages 6+

1.30-2pm Monday 19 & Friday 23 January 2025 | FREE, bookings required

Join us for a joyful all-ages movement workshop where parents and children can dance, play, and explore together!

Inspired by ideas of freedom, suspension and connection, this 30–minute workshop invites you to weave, whirl, and move joyfully in connection with each other and the space around you.

Come and join AGWA Teaching Artists for a playful movement games and simple creative dance–making activities designed for all bodies and all experience levels. No dance background needed, just curiosity and a sense of fun!

Suitable for all ages.

1-2.30pm Saturday 17, 24 & 31 January 2025 | FREE

Free-time drawing with your friends—and make some new ones—with cartoonist Mike Nicholas. Mike will visit your table and offer helpful hints and tips, showing you how to draw your favourite things in a fun, creative space.

Activities include guided drawing exercises and activity sheets inspired by the Gallery’s current exhibitions.

Suitable for all ages.

1-2pm Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 & Thursday 29 January 2025 | FREE, bookings required

A drawing workshop with WA illustrator, cartoonist, and TAFE animation lecturer Mike Nicholas. Learn cartoonist tips and tricks to improve your drawing technique and ease drawing anxieties. Step-by-step activities drawing inspiration from the Gallery’s current exhibitions.

Suitable for children aged 9-13 years with a keen interest in developing drawing skills.
Note – Only 20 spaces available.

1-2pm, Thursday 22 & Friday 30 January 2025 | FREE, bookings required

Join us for an all–ages hands–on stick doll–making workshop with Nyoongar maker Geri Hayden. Explore ideas and design curious playable objects made from natural and art materials.

Suitable for all ages.
There is a limit of 20 participants per session.

10am-5pm daily | FREE

Take part in Perth’s biggest-ever mindful colouring mural this Summer school holidays.

West Australian visual artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers will create the base of the mural, stretching an impressive 13 metres long and 4.5 metres high. However, the artwork will only be complete once you pick up a pencil and add your own colour, transforming the line work into a vibrant collaborative piece.

Designed to spark wonder and encourage slow, mindful engagement, the mural invites you to explore colour theory while contributing to a shared outcome. The result will be a collective artwork that celebrates themes of community, colour, and care.

Suitable for all ages.

10am-5pm daily | FREE

Through participatory installations, tactile experiences and joyful bursts of colour, Re-PLAY challenges the ‘grey-ness’ of contemporary life and pushes back against consumerism, schedules and screens. It’s a space where beauty, joy and hope are made visible, and where creative expression becomes a vehicle for social change and emotional wellbeing.

Re-PLAY is an entirely unplugged experience, offering a rare moment of connection and collaboration for audiences of all ages, with a powerful call to pause, reflect, and play.

10am-5pm daily | FREE

Drawing has long been a language of thought, and a means to explore and interpret the world. For centuries, drawing from both life and sculpture has been a foundational practice in the education of artists. This school holidays we invite you and your family to explore the works in the Gallery through drawing. Whether it’s the powerful bronze sculptures on the rooftop or the range of First Nations work in Balancing Act (exhibition closes Mon 26 Jan), take a closer look at their textures, shapes, and stories. To bring your own artistic touch to your visit, pick up a free graphite drawing pack at the AGWA Reception Desk.

Suitable for all ages.

3-4pm daily | FREE

A time for rest, reflection and slow play.

Quiet Hour is for slow play and soft listening, offering a quiet space for whispering together and enjoying a lower sensory environment. Notice colours, textures, sounds and sensations. Listen to your heartbeat. Feel your breath rising and falling. Rest.

Suitable for all ages.

10.30am-11am Monday, Wednesday & Friday (12-30 January 2026) | FREE

Our Family Tours are led by our friendly Gallery Guides and invite children and their families to explore amazing artworks, share ideas, and spark creativity together. You’ll dive into stories behind the art, learn about how different materials are used, and enjoy lively conversations shaped by your own thoughts and imagination.

Perfect for children aged 5–12 and their grown-ups.