Contemporary Kids: Mini Eco-Explorers

November 17 + 24

1-2:30 PM or 3-4:30 PM
Workshop

For children ages 5-12.

Join us for the natural wildlife craft Workshop inspired by Paola Pivi’s playful exhibition Come check it out. 

Inspired by Pivi’s imaginative take on animals and the environment, this hands-on workshop invites kids to craft their own wildlife creatures using natural bark pieces. Children will uncover and shape animal silhouettes, bringing them to life with natural materials and recycled items. This fun activity encourages participants to explore themes of climate change, environmental awareness, and recycling through art and creativity.

Our free onsite Contemporary Kids programs invite children to learn about modern and contemporary art through unique and engaging art activities.

For children ages 5-12. Maximum group of 30 children, with one guardian per child. Questions? Please visit our FAQ page.

*In case you are unable to attend, kindly inform us by emailing education@contemporarycalgary.com at least 48 hours in advance so someone else can attend.

The same workshop is offered in four sessions for your convenience: two sessions on Sunday, November 17 and two sessions on Sunday, November 24. Choose one session that suits your schedule best.

Sunday, November 17
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, November 17
3:00-4:30 PM

Sunday, November 24
1:00-2:30 PM

Sunday, November 24
3:00-4:30 PM

About our TD Educational Facilitators

Poppy Ghasemi (she/her)

Poppy holds a bachelor's degree in Museum Studies and a master's in Anthropology. The awards she received from the University of Manitoba supported her research on child neglect. She has over four years of hands-on experience working with children and youth in museums and schools in Iran, Turkey, and Canada. Before joining Contemporary Calgary, she was a program educator at the Manitoba Children's Museum. Poppy primarily focuses on activating children's critical and creative thinking skills while delivering programs in English, French, Farsi, and Turkish. She enjoys cooking and walking with her husky along the Bow River during her leisure time.

Dandan Gu (she/her)

Dandan Gu graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication Design. Prior to that, she obtained her first bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China. Dandan has worked as a graphic designer for various companies and creative projects. Currently, she passionately serves as an educational assistant for art-making programs within the community, sharing her creative expertise with young learners. In her free time, Dandan enjoys practicing ink art, Chinese calligraphy, and illustrating cats and people around her.

Supported by

Supported by

Paola Pivi
Come check it out

October 3, 2024—March 2, 2025

Come check it out is Italian artist Paola Pivi’s first major institutional solo show in Canada. Born in Milan, Italy and currently residing on the Island of Hawai’i, Hawaii, Pivi’s practice subverts the familiar and ordinary in ways that expands on our relationship with the built environment. 

The exhibition includes sculptural installations that question the authenticity of iconic landmarks and symbols like the Statue of Liberty and the Polar bear, symbols that have come to stand in for ideas of freedom and the global climate crisis respectively. Staged as seemingly whimsical and theatrical assemblages, Pivi employs the power of association to unpack and demystify the contrived relationship between the natural and manufactured worlds, and in so doing invites us to reflect on our choices, and the inherent responsibility they carry. Animals feature prominently in her cast of characters alongside readymade and repurposed objects, placed in unnatural or unreal situations that makes the hand of the human, though unseen, starkly present. Her work seeks the truthful and factual in ways that peel back layers of misinformation, and stereotypes, but with a sense of irony and playfulness that allows for wider engagement and deeper introspection. 

Curated by Kanika Anand

Upcoming Progr

Program Archive

About the Artist

Paola Pivi
(she/her)

Paola Pivi won the Leone D’oro at the Venice Biennale in 1999 for the best national pavilion, along with other 5 artists. She was part of the Venice Biennale (1999, 2003), Manifesta (2004, 2014), Berlin Biennale (2008), Echigo Tsumari Triennale /2015) and Yokohama (2017).

She made public artworks for the Public Art Fund and the High Line in New York in 2012 and 2022 and for Sculpture International Rotterdam in 2010.

Pivi has had solo shows in international institutions such as: Fondazione Trussardi, Milan (2006); Kunsthalle Basel (2007); Tate Modern, London (2009); Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2012), Castello di Rivoli (2012), FRAC Bourgogne, Francia (2014), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2014), Dallas Contemporary (2016), The Bass Museum, Miami Beach (2018), MAXXI, Roma (2019), Arken Museum, Danimarca (2020), The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (2022), [mac] musée d'art contemporain, Marsiglia (2023).