Playing with Art During the Mid-Year Break: Workshop Days for Children at Arter

Good news for those seeking a mid-year break program for children that is not merely “occupying” but thought-provoking and productive: In the first month of 2026, Arter is offering a comprehensive children’s workshop programme that translates contemporary art into the language of children.

The programme consists of workshops specially designed for different age groups, spanning a wide range from music to movement, collage to printmaking, and observation to imagination. What unites the workshops is a single shared goal: to transform art for children from something merely “looked at” into an experienced process.

From Art to Story, Rhythm, and Play

Arter’s mid-year programme draws substantial inspiration from Nilbar Güreş’s solo exhibition titled Velvet Gaze. But children do not simply tour the exhibition; they reconstruct it with sound, body, texture, and imagination.

Music in the Forest, prepared for ages 2–3, combines an exhibition tour with rhythm and sound games.

Children in the 4–6 age group explore the concept of self-portrait with fabrics, colours, and objects in the Soft Self-Portrait workshop.

For the 6–11 age range, art production takes centre stage with collage, trace-texture studies, and printmaking techniques.

Each workshop encourages children to generate their own questions rather than seeking a “correct result.”

One of the programme’s most valuable highlights is the open-use days of the Workshop space on Arter’s -1 floor.

On 21, 22, 28, and 29 January, children aged 6–11 can use this space free of charge.

There is no directed outcome here; there are various materials, free experimentation, and the children’s own rhythms of production. In a sense, a small zone of freedom opens up in the heart of the museum.

A Small Note for Parents

An adult companion for each child participating in the workshops can visit Arter’s exhibitions free of charge on the same day. So while children create, adults can spend time in the museum—a rare balance.

A Note from Apartment No: 26

Arter’s programme stands out for treating children not as “art consumers” but as active subjects of art.

It is one of the rare examples reminding us that thoughtful fun—away from shopping malls or screens—is possible during the mid-year break.