Children’s creative art program takes off

A children’s art program offered in Stanley for the second time this year has taken off with flying colours. Hosted by the Stanley Community Playgroup and Stanley Artists, 28 children took part on Saturday for the first two-hour creative session in the four-week program. This compared to an overall total of 52 children in the inaugural four-week program held on Saturdays earlier this year. The ‘Stanley Children’s Art Revival’ (SCAR) program has a variety of activities in different mediums for youngsters and young people to explore. Stanley Community Playgroup ‘s Mallory Watson said organisers rated the event being held at the former village’s primary school another success. “It was a full house and well ahead in numbers; we had returning families too,” she said. “Everyone enjoyed themselves with many people booking for the next three Saturday sessions.” Mallory said the program drew families with children from Beechworth, Stanley, Chiltern, Murmungee and Myrtleford. “SCAR is a great program for kids from three to 12 years old as children need a safe and positive space to create art,” she said. “Building positive relationships is central to any learning setting and is SCAR’s aim. “It is a low-key welcoming environment that strives to be inclusive. “There are many opportunities for parents, caregivers and children to interact during the morning to build on this philosophy.” A morning tea also created the chance for all age groups to interact. Mallory said an outdoor play space including a mud kitchen made by the Beechworth Correctional Centre’s community team had been a huge hit too. “The school playground is a great way for young children to use their energy with their family or their peers,” she said. “From a community perspective it is important to nurture young people and SCAR does this by providing the artistic framework to allow open ended learning." Mallory said older children helped younger ones with the intergenerational learning replicating how families work. “We changed the program slightly to respond to feedback and added an additional time slot for youngsters as well,” she said. “The school building provided a perfect place to let all the classes run with their own space while also being connected.” Among colourful creations included Steampunk sculpture and crazy hair day portraits made as well. Mallory said SCAR had been created with a 2025 Indigo Shire Community Grant as part of the playgroup’s funding with a continuing grant as the program had been well liked by the community. Visit https://events.humanitix.com/stanley-childrens-art-revival for more information and to register for all or any of the sessions for 19 and 26 September, and 3 October.

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