Once upon a time

Places are strictly limited. To book a performance or for more information see Belfast Children's Festival
Age: 5 - 8 years
Duration: 30 - 40 minutes
Child ticket: £5; adult ticket: £5

For this project, PS² is a performance venue in two ways: it hosts the ‘Once upon a time’ storytelling event for kids up to an age of eight and it is also a performance space in the tradition of performance art. Performance- Saturday, 22.May, 11.30am The story starts like many: once upon a time. But after some few sentences, the story stops, the book disappears. It is up to the kids to continue. The new story made up by them is not written down in words but in images. What is created is an ad-hoc cartoon book on the whiteboard.
Patrick Sanders later transfers the new story to the sidewall, compacts and scales the drawings and adds the text. A post-production process which develops a wall-book during the process and which remains hidden behind the curtains during the performances. After four recent projects with wall drawings by artists with very different approaches to drawing, mark making and narratives, this project in connection with the Belfast Children’s Festival fits well into this context. And: it is full of fun and interaction- which one can’t normally expect from the general art world.

Saturday, 22.May, 11.30am: The shrink ray All stories transcribed on two walls
‘The idea for this project began through work with Nursery Schools. In a world where imagination has become devalued, it's vital to remember how creative children can be and how important imaginative play is to their development.’ Patrick Sanders