The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is celebrating National Family Week with fantastic free holiday activities for the whole family to enjoy. The half-term week sees the return of the Sainsbury Centre’s popular Object of the Holiday series which offers free drop-in activities for families from Tuesday 1 – Sunday 6 June (closed Mondays). The week will be brought to a close on Sunday 6 June with First Sunday ‘Get Sporty!’ The event, which is part of the Centre’s popular monthly First Sunday programme, will run from midday and include storytelling, live music and drop-in activities in the café and galleries. Half-term activities and admissions to the gallery are free. National Family Week is the UK’s biggest celebration of family life and encourages families to spend more quality time together.

“Families are very important to us at the Sainsbury Centre and we are proud to be associated with National Family Week. We are delighted to be continuing with our object of the holiday series which has proved incredibly popular since we launched it at February half-term this year. Gallery admission and activities are free – come along and see us for some free family fun!” – Emily Ward, Education Officer (Families and Children).

The Sainsbury Centre’s popular Object of the Holiday activities will begin on Tuesday 2 June and will on offer during the half-term week. This holiday, the highlighted object will be the Mexican Ball Players in the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection (activities and admission to the Sainsbury Centre is free).

Families will be able to spend the day at the Centre and enjoy a host of things on offer. At our activity table, children will be able to make a ballplayer’s headdress which they can wear to explore the galleries (Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm). The activity booklet, designed by artist Sarah Florence-Nash with support from the Centre’s guides, includes fun facts about the Mexican ball game player, a 3D word search, drawing activity, object trail and a recipe for making a salt clay ballplayer at home.

On Wednesday 2 June the Sainsbury Centre will celebrate National Family Week Story Time by launching its new Summer Stories series (Wednesday from 11am to 4pm). Families will be able to enjoy a whole day of storytelling, with stories relating to the Mexican Ball Game Players and myths from Ancient Mexico. Children can also enjoy stories about the permanent collections narrated by Sainsbury Centre guides each morning during the week (Tuesday to Friday at 11am).

The Mexican Ball Game Player originates from the Gulf coast region of Mexico in AD 100-400 and is one of many pieces in the Sainsbury Collection that depicts sporting figures. The ball game of this time was played between two teams hitting a solid rubber ball with their hips. The Mexican Ball Game Player is decorated with protective clothing, including pads on the elbows and a special yugo padded belt around the hips. Games were an important aspect of communal life, with the results often carrying political or religious significance. Interestingly, it is not always clear whether figures of ball players from this period are representations of male or female players.

At the ‘Get Sporty First Sunday’ on Sunday 6 June, children will be able to warm up for the football World Cup by searching for sporting figures on a special gallery trail and enjoying a creative workout at the activity table. Brolly Folk will be performing live in the Gallery Café and there will be free Sunday papers. If the sun is shining, families can head outside to play their own sporty games in the beautiful parkland which surrounds the Centre.

The Sainsbury Centre’s summer exhibitions open on Tuesday 22 June and run until Sunday 29 August. Henry Moore Textiles is a critically acclaimed exhibition of Moore’s textile designs from the 1940s and 1950s. unearthed is an exciting new exhibition which offers the chance to get up close to small prehistoric Balkan and Japanese ceramic figurines.

Opening times, bookings and information
NOTE NEW OPENING TIMES
Open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays), 10am to 5pm
Tel 01603 593199 www.scva.ac.uk

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

First Sunday times and information

Midday – 4pm
Drop-in art activities in the gallery
Free

1pm – 3pm
Live music in the gallery café
Free

12.30pm
Storytelling in the gallery
Free
Not pre-bookable, places on a first-come, first-served basis

Forthcoming First Sundays during the summer season

Sunday 4 July – Little People
Sunday 1 August – Family Fun Day
Sunday 5 September – No Place Like Home

Exhibition dates, times and information

Henry Moore Textiles and unearthed will run from Tuesday 22 June to Sunday 29 August. The exhibition will be open Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays including Bank Holidays), 10am to 5pm. Tel 01603 593199 www.scva.ac.uk.

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