<\/p>\n
iSTART \u2014\u2014Small Nature \u00b7 Big Families<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Initiated and curated by A4 Art Museum in 2014, the iSTART Children\u2019s Art Festival is a pioneering children\u2019s creativity and social art education project in China, with child participation, empowerment, and co-creation at the heart of its mission. The 10th iSTART Children\u2019s Art Festival will open at A4 Art Museum on June 1, 2024, International Children\u2019s Day. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cSmall Nature, Big Families,\u201d explores children\u2019s experiences of nature and the importance of growing up within a supportive social environment. By reactivating and reconnecting the elements of \u201cSmall Nature\u201d and \u201cBig Families,\u201d the festival seeks to support children\u2019s growth in an environment that is both more natural and more supportive.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSmall Nature\u201d focuses on children\u2019s direct, close-up interactions with the natural world. Children have an innate desire and need to connect with nature, yet modern social structures and patterns of development have created challenges such as diminishing opportunities for contact with nature and a weakening of sensory awareness. \u201cSmall Nature\u201d refers to the natural elements children can encounter in everyday life\u2014sand, water, leaves, and other forms of nature close at hand. Spontaneous and exploratory interactions with these elements can stimulate children\u2019s curiosity and creativity. Such ordinary, seemingly minor experiences form the foundation of children\u2019s intuitive understanding of and emotional connection with nature.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBig Families\u201d extends beyond the immediate family to the wider community and society, emphasizing the importance of a supportive social environment for children\u2019s development. This is particularly significant as children today face a range of challenges, including insufficient social support systems, disrupted family and community relationships, and educational pressure. Beyond a child\u2019s own \u201csmall family,\u201d the people around them\u2014friends, teachers, and community members\u2014as well as the environments they inhabit\u2014schools, parks, and natural surroundings\u2014are all essential parts of their growth. Together, this \u201cBig Families\u201d forms a diverse ecosystem in which interaction and mutual support enable children to grow and develop more fully.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Driven by the iSTART co-creation team, the \u201cSmall Nature, Big Families\u201d exhibition brings together research and practice across education, public welfare, medicine, and game studies. It draws on the knowledge and creativity of scholars, teachers, and artists from different fields, presenting a series of interdisciplinary collaborations. Within \u201cSmall Nature,\u201d visitors will encounter the \u201cPanda Thousand Bridges Project,\u201d initiated in collaboration with the Yunhe Center and focused on children\u2019s engagement with panda habitat conservation. The \u201cWarrior Cats Assembly,\u201d developed through close collaboration with the Luxelakes Community, uses stop-motion animation to express children\u2019s care for stray cats in their neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Within \u201cBig Families,\u201d visitors can explore the \u201cMei Wan Mei Liao Bookstore,\u201d co-curated with Bai Xue; the \u201cT+ Aesthetic Education Development Support Program for Rural Educators,\u201d co-curated with Gong Yu and featuring projects by more than one hundred teachers and organisations; and \u201cMy Day,\u201d co-curated with the Dream Building Service Association, which presents cross-cultural exchanges between children in China and Africa through picture books. The \u201cArt Therapy and Children in Distress\u201d project, developed with the Mental Health Center of West China Hospital, highlights the important role of art in supporting young people\u2019s mental health. Visitors can also revisit signature iSTART projects, including \u201cGaga Nation,\u201d co-created with ZM Art Education, and the \u201cFamily Museum Project,\u201d co-created with Deng Dafei.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In collaboration with the Homo Ludens Archive, the entire exhibition has been designed as a gamified experience, allowing visitors to explore it through play. Throughout the exhibition period, education forums and public programmes for children, parents, and teachers will also be held, providing platforms for in-depth exchange and learning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n — Li Jie<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":3910,"template":"","categories":[12],"exhibitions_category":[60],"class_list":["post-7169","exhibitions","type-exhibitions","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a4-kids","exhibitions_category-istart"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibitions\/7169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibitions"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/exhibitions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7169"},{"taxonomy":"exhibitions_category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.a4artmuseum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exhibitions_category?post=7169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}