The Biennale of Sydney is a major art exhibition that takes place every two years. It runs for 12 weeks (16 March – 11 June, 2018), and features the work of 70 artists from 35 countries in 7 different locations across the city. If you’re an art lover in Sydney, this is the time to get your boots on!
We’ve been attending the Biennale since we moved to Sydney, and our favorite thing to do is always a trip to Cockatoo Island. If you’ve never been, it is a UNESCO heritage listed island in Sydney Harbour. Since European settlement, it has been used as a convict prison and industrial/ship-building site, and many of the buildings and equipment remain intact. Even with no special events on, it’s a fascinating place to visit, but with its high-ceiling warehouses, twisty tunnels, and moody old sandstone buildings, you can imagine why it’s the perfect place for large scale installations.
I was anxious to get in to see the Biennale early, so I went mid-week while the 5 year old Artsplorer was in school, and took a mum-and-bub outing for a first look. The baby was kind enough to fall asleep as we walked off the ferry wharf, and nap through the entire two hours we were there, though I can only imagine what sort of dreams she was having with some of the sounds a few of the installations were emanating!
Certainly the most talked about work in the whole of this year’s Biennale will be Ai Weiwei’s The Law of the Journey, a giant inflatable raft filled with 250 oversized human figures. It is made of the same material as the boats the refugees have used to cross the Aegean Sea. Around the base are quotes from sources ranging from Kafka to the Bible. I found this piece to be extremely moving, and I spent about 10 minutes walking around it, considering the quotes and the scope, getting rather choked up in many spots. The world refugee crisis is a serious topic to talk to children about, but the size of this work is naturally going to draw children to it, and I think that you can engage with kids of any age about the meaning of this work.
For younger children who don’t have firsthand experience related to the refugee experience, the conversation may be something simple, such as, “there are people who aren’t safe in their own homes, and so they have to try to find new homes. These people are looking for a new place to call home.” I would reassure a young child that their home is safe before, perhaps, asking them how they think the people on the boat might be feeling.
With an older child who has the capacity to understand a bit more about the refugee diaspora, consider choosing one of the quotes to talk about.
Another piece I’d suggest spending some time with if you go with kids is Abraham Cruzvillegas’ Reconstruction I: The Five Enemies, 2018, and Reconstruction II: The Five Enemies, 2018. A volunteer explained to me the nature of the pieces, which are suspended from the ceiling: Cruzvillegas came from Mexico City, bringing no materials with him, and assembled the sculptures from things he found around the island. Hello, invitation to create when you get home!
One of my favorite experiences was Yukinori Yanagi’s Icarus Container, which from the outside, appears as a series of shipping containers, and is the first large scale installation you’ll notice as you walk into the main building. It’s an experiential piece, involving mirrors and projections, but I’d warn parents that it is very dark and sometimes disorienting inside, so I suggest that you proceed with caution, as I think it may be too scary for many children.
There are a total of 24 works on Cockatoo Island, many of them large scale and ambitious – in short, just the sorts of things that make kids take notice. I got a lot of context from chatting with the volunteers who are stationed around each piece of art – they were exceptionally friendly and happy to chat. Ask them questions – or, better yet, let your kids ask. All of the work here can be appreciated from so many different perspectives. There is something to peak any child’s curiosity.
A few suggestions, if you go:
- You can only access Cockatoo Island by boat. Ferries run regularly from Circular Quay and Barangaroo on the city side, and the F8 line the begins in Parramatta coming the other way (Cockatoo Island ferry schedule).
- Admission to Cockatoo Island and the Biennale is free.
- Slip, slap, slop. While the art is mostly indoors, there is precious little shade on the rest of the island.
- I did the entire day with a pram, and I’m happy to say that it was all accessible, aside from some viewing platforms to see the Ai Weiwei piece from above. Some of the terrain isn’t smooth, but I found it all manageable.
- There are plenty of toilet facilities.
- You can bring a picnic or there are 3 restaurants on Cockatoo Island. Here are a couple of the menus as an idea:
- “Family days” for the Biennale on Cockatoo Island are 29 April and 20 May from 11a.m. – 4p.m.
Let me know if you go. I’d love to hear your thoughts!