Get making during our Holiday Fun: Make session with a variety of free creative activities at Firstsite this Summer.

Most suitable for those aged 4 – 11 yrs, but all ages welcome.

Drop-in anytime between 10am – 2:30pm from Tuesday to Saturday to take part.

No need to book for our Make sessions.

Adults required to stay.

Session Activities 

Tue 28 Oct: My Feelings Landscape: Exploring Colour, Shape & Emotions  – Preet Cox 

Children and families are invited to discover how colour, shape, line, and texture can express feelings, memories, and experiences, inspired by the artists in the ‘Into Abstraction’ exhibition.

Participants will be encouraged to explore their inner world of feelings and translate them into abstract form. Through colour, shape, and expressive lines, they will create their own unique ‘Feelings Landscape’ to express themselves.

This activity offers a playful, meaningful experience with abstract art and how artists use visual language to reflect the world around and inside them. Families will also be invited to add to our ‘Community Feelings Landscape’, a larger piece which will reflect ‘feelings landscapes’ as a collective piece.

Wed 29 Oct: Weave your Stories – Preet Cox 

Inspired by Ghafar Tajmohammad’s paintings and ‘kilims’ (woven rugs) exhibition explore home, memory, displacement, and resilience.

Experience paper weaving, shapes, and textures that represents your story, identity and sense of place.

The activity encourages playful exploration of colour, pattern, and storytelling and invites families to make their own symbolic ‘memory textile’ or ‘shape tapestry’.

Thu 30 Oct: Story Time: the Day the Colours Returned – Sherry Bélizaire 

A children’s story time performer and an artist, Sherry will be reading her book, ‘The Day the Colours Returned’ – an adventure that consists of 13 unique characters — each carrying a verse of loss, longing, and the search for belonging — children will discover narratives woven with culture, memory, and the harmony of nature.

Together, these voices speak of heritage, change, courage, and the burning desire for their lives to be remembered.

Sherry will also be reading from the books of the popular children’s author Todd Parr whose kind and colourful affirmation stories are about loving yourself, diversity, inclusivity and peace.

Fri 31 Oct: Enchanted Wands – Freya Gascoyne

Come along to this workshop with artist Freya Gascoyne, to create magical wands from natural foraged materials! Enrich your sticks with dreams and powers by adding special marks, ribbons and feathers.

Inspired by the tradition of ‘journey sticks’, the wands we create will accompany us beyond the workshop, holding our dreams and being further decorated with materials we find on our future journeys!

All materials will be provided but you’re welcome to bring any foraged items or small objects from your journey to Firstsite (or from home), to tie to your wands. 

Sat 1 Nov: Alphabetti Spaghetti – Tom Armstrong 

Experience the fun and many ways of making art with letters and text.

Inspired by artworks on display in the gallery we will explore different ways we can turn text into artwork!

Our Holiday Fun activities are for families facing economic challenges or who require additional support during the school holidays, including those that qualify for benefits-based free school meals.

Holiday Fun is designed in partnership with African Families in the UK, Bangladeshi Women’s Association Essex, and Level Best Enterprises.

Find out more about Holiday Fun.

How to get to Firstsite

Please note there is no parking available at Firstsite, however there are car parks nearby, and Colchester Town Centre is well serviced by public transport. How to get here

Explore more of Holiday Fun

Children can take part in our movement activities and enjoy a free hot meal for all the family too – find out more and book here

Holiday Fun is designed in partnership with African Families in the UK, Bangladeshi Women’s Association Essex, and Level Best Enterprises.

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