This Easter holiday is packed with fun for families at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich. There will be drop-in activities as part of the Centre’s Object of the Holiday series each day from Tuesday 12 – Sunday 24 April, 2011 11am – 4pm (closed Mondays including Easter Monday). 

Children can also complete a free artist-designed activity booklet with fun facts and a drawing challenge or explore the collections with a gallery trail. This holiday the Sainsbury Centre will be focussing on a dramatic helmet mask from the Pacific, in the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. Easter activities and admission to the gallery are free

“We are delighted to be continuing with our object of the holiday series which brings our permanent collection to life for children. This holiday there will be lots of creative activities to take part in, linking to a large dramatic mask from the Pacific. Afterwards, families may like to visit our Basketry exhibition or head outside to play in the beautiful parkland which surrounds the centre” – Charlotte Peel, Sainsbury Centre Education Officer (Families and Children).

Families can spend the day at the Centre during the Easter school holiday and enjoy a host of things on offer. There will be Object of the Holiday activities each day including an activity table with artist-designed things to make and do, kindly supported by The Hewitt School (Tuesday to Sunday each week from 11am to 4pm) as well as an activity booklet and a gallery trail. The activity booklet includes lots of fun facts about the helmet mask with special insights from local artists and researchers. A gallery trail will give families the opportunity to explore the collections and every child who completes the trail will receive a mini-chocolate Easter egg. There will also be the opportunity to use the Centre’s family resources, including Gallery Explorer suitcases with games and activities.

This holiday the highlighted object will be the Helmet Mask in the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. The helmet mask comes from New Britain, a small island in the Pacific Ocean, and would have been worn during ceremonial dancing. This type of mask is called a kavat because of its large eyes and sticking out tongue. The mask would have been worn for night dances and is made from bark cloth and cane.

Visitors to the Sainsbury Centre during the Easter holiday can also see the spring exhibition, Basketry: making human nature, exploring traditional and contemporary basketry from around the world, including objects from the Pacific. The exhibition reveals the extraordinary uses of basketry technology and considers its place in human culture. Families will be able to see a large-scale basketry such as a reed boat from Peru, a fishing weir from Papua New Guinea and a woven architectural wall panel from Guy’s Hospital in London. The exhibition runs until Sunday 22 May 2011.


Opening times, bookings and information

Open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays including bank holidays), 10am to 5pm. Open Easter weekend except Easter Monday. Closed Friday 29 April (public holiday).

Tel 01603 593199 www.scva.ac.uk

Admission to the gallery and permanent collections is free
Special exhibitions are charged – see below
 

Easter Holiday activities times and information

Tuesday 12 – Sunday 24 April (closed Mondays including bank holiday)
11am – 4pm
Price: Free

Activity Table sponsored by The Hewitt School
  

Exhibition dates, times and information

Basketry runs from Tuesday 8 February to Sunday 22 May 2011. The exhibition will be open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays including Bank Holiday Mondays), 10am to 5pm. Tel 01603 593199 www.scva.ac.uk

Admission £4, concessions £2
Family admission (up to 2 adults and 3 children) £8, concessions £6
 

The Sainsbury Centre is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and The Gatsby Charitable Foundation.