On September 26, Artsvit for Kids launches its autumn art programme «Legends about the City», led by Alina Shtefan. The programme invites children to explore the mysteries and legends of the city and discover its places of inspiration.
Meetings will take place every Saturday for 10 weeks: at 11:00 AM for children aged 6–9, and at 1:00 PM for children aged 10–13.
We will discover what secrets the Great River has hidden beneath the water, build cardboard bridges, write a short diary of a future traveller, create our own tram line with unusual stops, invent their names, and draw a map of the starry Dnipro. There will also be many other discoveries, adventures, encounters, and creative experiments along the way!
The programme includes:
- collage;
- cardboard architecture;
- creating artist books;
- maps and atlases;
- three-dimensional art objects;
- storytelling and creative writing;
- artistic explorations of the urban environment;
- an atmosphere of contemporary urban fantasy, research, and legend-making.
«Legends about the City» will explore the following themes:
1. The Case of the River
What if the Dnipro is not simply a river, but the main character of the city? It remembers Cossacks and travellers, the construction of bridges, children’s secrets, and stories that no one can tell anymore. We will explore how rivers become characters in books and legends and try to “hear” what the Great River remembers.
We create: A portrait of the Great River.
2. Bridges That Take People Somewhere
At night, bridges can change their location. One leads to the future, another to childhood, and a third to a city that does not yet exist. We will talk about why bridges so often become symbols of crossing between worlds.
We create: A large map of bridges with secret routes.
3. The Library That Isn’t on the Map
There is a library where all the stories that have not yet been written are kept. The books there begin with blank pages and come to life only when they find their author.
We create: Our own book with blank pages that gradually comes to life.
4. The Station of Lost Routes
Not all trains travel to cities. Some journey into dreams, memories, islands, or the future. We will explore how journeys become the beginning of adventures in books.
We create: A ticket and a suitcase for an unusual journey.
5. The Island That Appears Only Sometimes
The Dnipro river has many islands. And yet, one day, another mysterious island appears in the middle of it. Strange trees grow there, unknown creatures live there, and its paths are constantly changing.
We create: A three-dimensional map of the island.
6. Streetlights That Remember Stories
Every evening, the city’s streetlights remember everything they see. They have witnessed meetings, farewells, celebrations, rainstorms, and small urban wonders.
We create: A series of illustrations, “One Night in the Life of a Streetlight.”
7. The City Beneath the City
Beneath the familiar streets, another Dnipro exists. There, fog mail carriers, bridge keepers, guardians of stairways, and rain cartographers are silently doing their work.
We create: A large vision of the city using mixed media.
8. The Tram That Travels Through Time
Some people say that after midnight, one of Dnipro’s trams can take a wrong turn. It then travels into another Dnipro: a city from a hundred years ago, a city of the future, or a city that never existed.
We create: A map of a tram route through time.
At the end of the session, children can connect their routes into one large fantastical tram map of Dnipro.
9. The Planetarium: A City Looking at the Stars
Let's imagine that the planetarium dome is not a ceiling, but a portal. When the city grows dark, it can reveal not only distant galaxies, but also Dnipro’s own future.
We create: Our own map of the starry Dnipro.
10. File: Dnipro
The final case in the archive. The young researchers uncover their own urban legend — one that no one has written down yet. All the stories come together to form a vast archive of a fantastical city.
We create: A collective atlas, “File: Dnipro.”
Programme author: Alina Shtefan
Assistant: Dariia Kozlovska
Photography: Marharyta Bozhko
Design: Olena Misiura
WHEN: every Saturday starting from September 26, at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
WHERE: Artsvit Gallery, Dnipro, 21a Krutohirnyi Uzviz. Entrance through the glass doors from Uspenska Square.
ADMISSION IS FREE WITH REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR EACH SESSION.
The program is part of the «Expanded Learning» program, implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. All materials produced within the program reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
