Arts & Culture Round-up: kids, art and Edinburgh

Who says kids can’t enjoy art?

Jake Chapman, for one. Half of the renowned Chapman brothers duo, he caused sparks to fly in the art world by suggesting that art galleries weren’t a place for children. It was best to keep them away.

A Family Day Out wrote a great post explaining how – while some children might not enjoy the gallery environment – art can be enjoyed on many levels. Children might not grasp all the subtleties of a Shakespeare play, for example, but they can enjoy some aspects, and come back later in life to the difficult bits. And it’s just the same with art galleries.

As if to illustrate, Babes About Town posted this review of Twelfth Night reimagined for a young audience. And My Gorgeous Boys went to Nottingham Contemporary art gallery, where they indulged in a bit of self-portraiture (NOT the Instagram kind….)

What do you think? Should children be taken along to art galleries?

Although many theatres wind down for the summer months, the Edinburgh Festival, one of this country’s biggest cultural events, kicked off in August.

And, it seems, there was plenty there to keep the children happy. Littlemummy posted a review of an interactive musical, War of the Worms. Daft Mamma and Glasgow Mummy enjoyed watching the antics of The Cat in the Hat. Toby Goes Bananas bopped along at Monski Mouse’s Baby Disco Dance Hall, and Chatiryworld blogged tons of stuff: children’s dance show Innocence, early years interactive performance Calvinball, French theatre show Celeste’s Circus and a child’s-eye view of the International Book Festival.

Sadly we didn’t make it to Edinburgh this year (date’s firmly in the diary for next summer, though). But the Pigeon Pair and Me did manage to join in with a daily #StoryShop challenge to tweet short stories around different themes. This was great fun – do give it a try, if you enjoy writing.

Other than that, bloggers have been up to the usual mix of cultural activities – only with slightly fewer trips to the theatre than in the non-summer months, and with more festivals, live experiences, and visits to museums, castles, galleries and stately homes. Here are a few posts to give a flavour of this summer’s action:

The voice of Sarah Miles and Treading on Lego walked the Riverside Bookbench trail of book-shaped seats, each illustrated with a classic read. The bookbenches will be removed from their London homes in a week or two, so if you want to follow the routes (and I’d recommend it – some of the benches are beautiful) you can visit the Books About Town website and download a map).

Mari’s World took the twins to Buckingham Palace on a Royal Day Out and to discover where real princesses grow up.

Globalmouse travels went to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Cottage in Somerset

Young & Younger enjoyed hanging out at the Just So Festival

Life As We Know It visited Powderham Castle

Family Travel Times went to Burghley House

Mini travellers caught Angelina Ballerina – the Mousical

and finally…..

JibberJabberUK had the Doctor Who Experience, in Cardiff

How about you? Have you caught any shows, or visited any cultural places? Do let me know, in the comments below or via Twitter @NellHeshram

About Nell Heshram

Nell Heshram is a writer who blogs at the Pigeon Pair and Me. On her blog she shares tips on arts and culture for kids; family travel; and what's new in her home town of London.

• Mail
|
• Web
|
• Twitter
|
• Facebook
|
• YouTube
|
• More Posts(26)