Big festival for little audience under way in Brisbane

A children’s festival has kicked off in Brisbane and it is not afraid to address some big themes for its little audience.

Out of the Box Festival will call QPAC home for the next five days and use music, performance and hands-on activities to explore broader issues in our society, QPAC chief executive John Kotzas said.

“There are programs at this year’s Festival...that address some big themes - the idea of home, refugees, history and how we see ourselves,” he said.

“The fact they are big themes doesn’t mean we should shy away from talking to our kids about them.”

Mr Kotzas said the festival was also an opportunity for parents and teachers to listen, converse with and help children understand the changes in their world.

“It is also a great opportunity for the children to walk in another person’s shoes and in that way, through the arts, they are learning about empathy, about how to read the world and also learning to build their emotional intelligence,” he said.

Since its inception in 1992, the biennial festival has had more than one million visitors, presented 1534 performances, 2335 workshops and 9461 activities.

This year, a day entry ticket to the festival will be the same cost as a single event in previous years, allowing guests to create a more personalised itinerary.

Festival director Brett Howe said the range of exhibitions and performances available this year would help children to see themselves in the show.

“Our program dives into the journeys and exploration our children go on each and every day as they uncover and discover new ideas about themselves and those around them,” he said.

“At a time when our thoughts and hearts are with children and their families all over this world, this festival makes a profound statement.”

Mother Stephanie Smith and her two daughters Mia, 3, and Izzy, 6, came all the way from the Gold Coast to take part in the first day of the festival.

Stephanie Smith with her two daughters Izzy, 6, and Mia, 3, at the Out of the Box Festival in Brisbane on Tuesday.Credit: Amy Mitchell-Whittington

“Our schools weren’t going to come to Out of the Box but it is a really good opportunity for the girls...just to learn about arts and crafts,” Ms Smith said.

“I can remember way back in the olden days I actually had something similar to Out of the Box for under-eights week and so I loved it and thought I would bring the girls along.

“They were very excited.”

Large-scale productions such as The Arrival, a migrant tale set in a fantastical time and place, will be complemented with a range of workshops, including self-portrait drawing.

There will also be outdoor dance parties, play spaces and Air Play, a circus-style performance Ms Smith her daughters were looking forward to.

Brisbane Times is a media partner for Out of the Box Festival, which will run from June 26 to July 1 (excluding Friday, June 29).