Picture Me: Art Day At The National Library

The Picture Me Festival is a celebration of illustration for children, bringing European children’s book illustrators to Aotearoa New Zealand for a lively festival of art and ideas. Join the National Library in exploring the power of picture books with Gecko Press and some of Europe’s leading children’s book illustrators on Saturday 14th September between 9am – 1pm.

National Library’s ‘Art Day’ is a full morning of free events for the whānau including workshops with European illustrators, read-alouds by New Zealand authors, and an illustration competition, with winning artwork to be shown in the Picture Me exhibition.

Illustration workshops - Book your spot on Eventfinda:

• 9am — Self-portraits and collaborative painting with Aurore Petit. (Ages 5+)
• 9:30am — Create a giant tree with Piotr Socha. (Ages 7+)
• 10.:30am — Make a tiny matchbox scene with Antje Damm. (Ages 8+)

Illustration corner:

• BYO pens and pencils to the illustration corner and create your own artwork, linking to the festival theme of identity. All ages welcome, art paper provided.

Story readings:

• Storytime throughout the day with visiting illustrators and New Zealand authors Juliette MacIver, Fifi Colston, Ruth Paul, and Dazzlehands’ Josh Morgan and Sacha Cotter. All ages welcome.

The Picture Me Festival runs from 11-28 September, and has a wide range of events across the motu. These events will engage children in the world of books through drawing, humour and reading. The National Children’s Collection is looked after by the National Library, and holds rich international collections of children’s picture books, fiction, and nonfiction that reflect the reading available to children from the 19th century to the present day. Reading is a powerful tool and has multiple benefits for children. National Library encourages reading for pleasure, especially from a young age.

Home Café and Te Āmiki will be open throughout the day.

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