Making Together: Creativity and Storytelling
Creative Activation
Abbotsford, Victoria
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Curation
Artwork Commissioning and Acquisition
Project Management
Fabrication
Installation
Documentation
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Private Art Collection
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Anni Hagberg
Baldwin Studios
Dean Toepfer
Gerwyn Davies
Glady Kemarre
Jeremy Blincoe
Jess Graham
Olive Gill-Hille
Scanlan & Makers
Sebastiann Knot (Netherlands)
Troy Emery
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Tom Blachford
WRAP partnered with Est and IKEA to deliver a series of creative workshops and family-focused activations designed to celebrate making, storytelling and the power of creativity in everyday life.
Developed as part of WRAP's ongoing commitment to increasing access to arts and cultural experiences in Melbourne Design Week with partner Est. Rentals, the program invited children and families to engage directly with artists, makers and creative practitioners through a series of hands-on workshops centred on imagination, participation and play.
At the heart of the initiative was a belief that creativity belongs to everyone. By removing barriers to participation and creating welcoming opportunities for people to make, learn and explore together, the program sought to demonstrate how artistic experiences can enrich everyday life and foster meaningful connections between people, stories and place.
Illuminated Stories, a workshop developed in collaboration with First Nations artist Peter Hood invited participants to create and decorate lanterns, transforming simple IKEA forms into unique artworks inspired by storytelling, imagination and personal expression. Through the workshop, children were encouraged to consider the ways stories are shared across generations and how creativity can help bring those stories to life.
For WRAP, projects such as these form an important extension of our broader philosophy: that art should be experienced not only through observation, but through participation. Whether through public artworks, cultural programs or community activations, we believe creativity has the capacity to transform everyday experiences, strengthen connections and create opportunities for people of all ages to engage with stories, culture and making.
The result was a joyful and inclusive creative environment that celebrated imagination, encouraged hands-on learning and demonstrated the value of art as an accessible and meaningful part of everyday life.
The program also featured a collaboration with the Australian Tapestry Workshop, introducing participants to textile-based making through their Make Your Own Monster kits. Through weaving, stitching and construction, children explored the tactile and imaginative possibilities of fibre-based art practices, gaining insight into the skills, traditions and creative thinking that underpin contemporary textile making.
Throughout the activation, the workshop space became a vibrant hub of creativity, curiosity and discovery. Families gathered to create together, share ideas and engage with artistic practices that might otherwise feel inaccessible or unfamiliar.
Event partner IKEA designed the space as a fun, colourful room for play and artistic exploration, crafting an environment that encouraged children to experiment and cultivate their artistic instincts.
→ Artist/s
Peter Hood (Kurnai /Yorta Yorta)
Peter Hood (Kurnai / Yorta Yorta) is a multidisciplinary First Nations artist, maker and cultural educator based in Melbourne. Hood discovered his love of drawing and making as a child, working with paper, pen and pencil and learning from his mother (a painter and maker) and his brother, also a talented artist. Since those early years, Hood's practice has expanded to encompass clay, textiles and painting.
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