The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre will host a free arts program for children with mild anxiety and those impacted by natural disasters and their families.
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Amongst the first of its kind worldwide, Culture Dose for Kids (CDK) is a partnership between the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Black Dog Institute, supported by the Jibb Foundation.
Commencing Sunday, July 23, the eight-week program for children aged 9-12 will be held on Sundays from 10.30am-12.30pm at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba.
The program will be led by Clare Delaney, who also runs the Inspired by Art workshops at the cultural centre, designer and illustrator Estee Sarsfield, and a team of local creatives.
"I'm really looking forward to facilitating such an important and much-needed program," said Estee Sarsfield. "We have eight weeks of exciting art-making activities planned, with a focus on creative play and self-expression. Each week, we will view two or three artworks in the cultural centre gallery and then respond to these through various artistic approaches, such as sculpture, collage, watercolour and printmaking.
"I think what is so valuable about this program is not only the mindfulness and self-awareness skills that participants will gain, but also the safe, supportive and creative environment we provide and the connections that will undoubtedly grow from the shared experiences of the participants," Sarsfield said.
Researchers from the Black Dog Institute will measure and evaluate the impact of the program.
Dr Diane Macdonald, project manager for CDK from the Black Dog Institute, said: "CDK emphasises the calming, meditative aspects of art engagement, sparks creative ideas and creates social connections in a peer-group setting to build self-confidence over a period of weeks. It also differs from other art-based programs as it engages children and their parents in two parallel sessions that operate separately and together."
CDK is the culmination of a five-year research initiative. It follows the successful and similar adult program (Culture Dose 2019-2020) and a Sydney-based multi-phase pilot program focusing on young people's mental wellbeing, held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales between 2021 and 2023.
The success of these programs provides clear evidence of CDK's feasibility with young people and their parents and has set in place a blueprint for its broader implementation across regional NSW.
Dr Macdonald said: "Although research and analysis are ongoing, our initial studies reveal that CDK positively and significantly impacts children's anxiety. In fact, almost every parent who attended the first two pilots was extremely likely to recommend the program to other parents of children with anxiety, indicating its acceptability as a mental health support."
Blue Mountains residents who are interested in this program can complete the application form which can be found on the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre's website.
