Summer Kids University - Young LeonARTos

ARTos Foundation is proud to present this year’s Summer Kids University, entitled “Young LeonARTos”, which will take place from the 23rd June to the 4th July 2014.

Through a series of participatory workshops for children between the ages of 7 and 12 years old, Kids University aims to promote the knowledge and experience that help to create strong personalities and creative and critical thinkers, with free will and confidence.

Kids University is conducted in a safe environment where the main objective is to foster the values ​​of mutual respect, team spirit and open dialogue.This year’s summer Kids University will draw inspiration from the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci and through the combination of arts, technology and science the children will become themselves inventors and polymaths. During “Young LeonARTos” and through a multidisciplinary approach the participants will have a unique experience of working in groups, in order to create their own inventions, sculptures and performances.

Participation Fee: € 240

€ 200 for siblings (per child)

5% discount for Aigaia School of Fine Arts’ students

23 June – 4 July 2014, 8:00 to 13:00 *

* Children may be at ARTos from 7:30 to 14:30 and work creatively with their trainers.

Please register by: 13/06/2014

For more information and registration please contact us at 99611159 and 22445455

Workshop descriptions and our facilitators:

“Little Box Theatre” Workshops, with Eleni Cosma

The Little Box Theatre workshops will provide an introduction to creative theatre games and devised theatre, guiding the children's boundless imaginations, and helping them to create characters and stories. Through these fun interactive exercises the children are encouraged to be more confident in themselves and to work together as a group to create a final piece.

Eleni Cosma is a full-time member of “Theatro Transcendental”, where she works as director and playwright. She is also the founder and facilitator of “Little Box Theatre”, which runs workshops for children and teenagers in English and Greek. She works at the Senior School as part-time drama teacher and writes theatre reviews for the Cyprus Mail. She has an MA in Applied Theatre.

Laughter Yoga, with Elina Papa

Laughter Yoga is a unique concept where anyone can laugh without reason. We don't rely on sense of humor, jokes or comedy. We laugh in a group and initiate laughter as a form of exercise. Through eye contact and child-like playfulness, laughter then becomes contagious and real. It is based on the scientifically proven fact that the body cannot tell the difference between fake and real laughter.

Elina Papa is an Internationally Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher and Breathwork Therapist. In 2009, she founded The School of Laughter Yoga Cyprus, the 1st Laughter Club and Laughter Leader training centre in Cyprus. Since then, through her classes, trainings, workshops, retreats and one-on-one sessions, she has been creating awareness throughout the island and abroad, about the benefits of Therapeutic Laughter and Breathwork.

Invisible colours and light, with Andreas Petrou

During the workshop we will explore the electromagnetic spectrum focusing on infrared – visible – ultraviolet frequencies. The children will have the opportunity to learn more about human and animal eye perception, as well as the usage of these frequencies in the modern world, and experience fun ultraviolet colour-tests by creating their own crafts reacting to UV light.

Andreas Petrou likes colors & light. During the past year he has worked on live performances and he has collaborated with different individuals and designers. At this time period, he is interested in researching audio/visuals and light establishments.

Inaudible Music, with Tomash Ghz

Together, we will explore the hidden sonic world of the 21st century. By using magnetic coils and contact microphones we will create our own music made of inaudible sounds produced by every day electronics and vibrations from objects that surround us.

Computer Interaction & Programming, with Tomash Ghz

With Scratch, a programming environment designed for children, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively; essential skills for life in the 21st century.

Tomash Ghz is a digital artist, producer, DJ, maker and developer; originally from Poland but lived most of his life in Cyprus. Interested in experimenting with interaction, sound and visuals; by blending those elements together in unexpected ways he seeks new forms of creative expression through technology. He created numerous MIDI controllers and instruments for himself, as well as other artists. Most notable, the “Digital Warrior”, a unique step sequencer controller.

 3D Mapping, with Costas Demosthenous

We sketch, smear and add movement (in relation to time and space), in a space, place or point, through light projections and other tools that Video Mapping can offer. ‘Video Mapping’ is an exciting new projection technique that can turn almost any surface into a dynamic video display. What technologies are used by artists working with Video Mapping, and how do they operate in relation to light, sound and decoration of the various topics they have chosen?

Costas Demosthenous is working with 3D Animation, video, 3D mapping, set design, filming and editing. He is currently working as a freelancer in the media and creative industries and seeks opportunities that allow him to express his creativity and enthusiasm. Teamwork and good communication are key-elements in his practice, with the ultimate goal of producing work of high standards.

Science & Experiments, with Viken Tavitian

The “Vikexploratorium” is a highly educational and entertaining science and technology show created and developed by Viken Tavitian. It consists of hands-on approaches to complicated science phenomena unveiling them in a fun way through simple experiments. The idea of these hands-on experiments is to convey that science is all around us and there is nothing to fear of science.

Viken Tavitian is a laser physicist by education, a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has been a researcher, inventor, patent holder, author, teacher and projects manager in many interdisciplinary fields. During the last 4 years he created and developed the “Vikexploratorium” Science & Technology show and the Science Comedy “Vikomedy Shows”, with several thousand hands-on, fun experiments and demonstrations. And all that without the unnecessary blah blah...

Painting & English Language, with Holly Mulveen

Introducing the foundations of contemporary painting practice, focusing on the potential of material experimentation in particular, whilst amalgamating and consolidating the fundamental terms ‘What? Where? How?”, of the English language.

Born in 1990, Northern Ireland, Holly studied fine art at U.K.’s Leeds College of Art and the Southern coast of Brighton, specifically focusing on the practice of contemporary painting. Currently residing in the Basque Country, Holly plays the ‘immigrant artist’, responding to the first-hand experience of a post-modern/post-colonial world, cultured by bright lights and plastic. In addition to her own painting practice, Holly conducts workshops, amalgamating the universality of image making with immersion in the English language.  

Installations / Sculpture, with Lydia Mandridou

One of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous inventions, the flying machine (also known as the "ornithopter") displays his powers of observation and imagination, as well as his enthusiasm for the potential of flight. During this workshop the kids, after studying and analyzing the design of the ornithopter as well as the anatomy of winged animals they will attempt to reproduce this flying devise by using a number of discarded and everyday objects. In this workshop the kids will not only learn a few things about aviation, but they will also have to use their imagination and creativity in making something entirely out of found objects.

Lydia Mandridou graduated from the University of Brighton in 2007 where she studied Interior Architecture. Lydia's multidisciplinary approach to design engaged her in various projects and collaborations in Cyprus. She designed interiors and furniture for private and public spaces, directed photo shoots for magazine editorials as well as fashion campaigns, curated vintage events and parties and designed costume and set for the Theatre and the Film Industry. She has also worked as a costume designer, production designer and art director for a number of Production and Advertising companies.

Art & Design, with Marina Hadjilouca

Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s interest in cartography and through the use of design, painting and model making, the children will create their own maps of imaginative countries and cities. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.

Marina Hadjilouca is a Set and Costume Designer and a co-founder of the design group Schedia, which specialises in socially engaged design within the urban environment. Marina has been facilitating workshops for the Kids University since 2010. Marina holds a BA (Hons) in Theatre Design for Performance and an MA in Narrative Environments, and currently is working on her PhD research at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

How to Invent, with Achilleas Kentonis

A series of actions based on the concept of playing, which will help children to experience the limitless possibilities of their mind and develop their own inventions.

Achilleas Kentonis was born in Nicosia in 1963. He studied Electrical Engineering, Physics and Fine Arts at the University of South Alabama, USA and completed his Masters Degree in Spain. He worked for two years in “electromagnetic” research for NASA, USA and he was trained at MIT in Boston, USA in innovative thinking and its applications. Founder of the Centre of Contemporary Culture for Middle East,  “Multum in Parvo” Research Centre investigating the electro-magnetic and geomagnetic radiation in relation to the human body,  “Innovation Gym” which focuses on mentoring and education in order to produce innovative ideas and applications and co-founder of ARTos Cultural and Research Foundation. As a visual artist, he has held solo exhibitions and represented Cyprus in various European and international visual meetings, biennials and Triennales in the fields of photography, printmaking, video art, video animation, film, sculpture, site-specific installations and architecture.