Family Explorer Activities: Melanie Matrangra, Hide & Seek (BSL)

Activities to do in the gallery and at home with Artist Sian, and Little Artist, Aoife, together with a little help from pupils at Huntingdon Academy

Melanie Matranga explores the idea of the domestic space, the spaces around your home. How we move around and disappear into our own spaces, and how we connect and disconnect to each other and ourselves.

In this activity you explore the ideas through a game of Hide and Seek.

Take a look at the film to see what it’s all about.

If you are visiting the exhibition with your children, please be aware there is a film 'People' featured in the show where entry is restricted to visitors aged 18 or over. The film is screened in a separate space within the exhibition with monitored entry.

Here’s a few extra activities you can do at home

Download the activity sheet Reveal and Hide here

Download the activity sheet Change my Space here

A sheet describing a reveal and hide activity. The sheet reads: "Using clothes or a blanket, bed sheet or even your duvet, choose a body part from your 'hide' list and one from your 'reveal' list. Take turns to choose a body part to hide or reveal. Cover yourself in a blanket or coat until you are completely hidden."

Reveal and Hide

Using clothes or a blanket, bed sheet or even your duvet, choose a body part from your ‘Hide’ list and one from your ‘Reveal’ list (you can add new body parts to the list and swap some about).

Take turns to choose a body part to hide or reveal.
Reveal: Elbow, Knee, Ear, Bottom, Nose, Hand
Hide: Mouth, Foot, Leg, Arm, Hair, Head

Cover yourself in the blanket or coat until you are completely hidden.
Your partner will then shout out, Hide your legs! Reveal your elbow!

To make it more of a challenge see if you can hide and reveal more than one part of your body, how many can you do? Hide 3 body parts and reveal 5 body parts!

Step up the challenge again and see how many people can hide under your cover at the same time and play the game together!

12 legs revealed and 6 heads hidden!

A sheet describing the change my space activity. Part of the sheet reads "Melanie Mantraga work also looks at how different places and empty rooms can tell a story of who was once there. Imagine creating a scene or a room in a space where it doesn't usually belong? Build a garden inside your house from different objects, a chair with yellow jumpers or tights wrapped around it. or open books to create flowers.

Change my Space

Melanie Matranga work also looks at how different places and empty rooms can tell a story of who was once there.

Imagine creating a scene or a room in a space where it doesn't usually belong?

Build a garden inside your house from different objects, a chair with yellow jumpers or tights wrapped around it, or open books to create flowers.

Find big and small objects, different coloured clothes, things from different rooms that could help rebuild and tell a story of that place.

Build the challenge further, create a den inside or outside or your home that sets a scene for a story or character.
Use a bed sheet over a table or chairs, think about leaving clues about a character that help tell that story.

Suggestions: A desert island, an underwater world, a happy place, a secret home, a jungle

We would love to see how you got on! Share your visit or creations on our social media #NCmaking

This activity was created by Associate Artist, Sian Watson-Taylor

A close-up image of associate artist, Sian Watson-Taylor.

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If you have enjoyed taking part in any of our digital family activities we would really appreciate you shouting about it! Nominations are open for ‘Kids in Museums:Family Friendly Museum Award 2021”. You can place your vote here. Thank you!

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Working digitally, means we miss all those lovely conversations we would usually have with you, sharing ideas, listening, and seeing how you respond to our workshops. It is difficult to get feedback when we don't see you and this would really help.

The survey takes about 10 mins or less to complete and it will really help our team to understand more about what you thought ready for when we are back together at Nottingham Contemporary. You can fill out our survey by clicking here.

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