In an period the place play is changing into much less accessible for a lot of households, the LEGO Group has launched a groundbreaking expertise that goals to reignite the enjoyment and creativity of play. Superpower Studios, which just lately opened in Paris, challenges customary notions of artwork galleries by reworking them into energetic areas the place kids and households can discover, create, and join by the magic of play. This fresh initiative is a part of LEGO’s broader “Play is Your Superpower” marketing campaign, which seeks to focus on the profound affect play has on people and communities.
Set inside La Gaîté Lyrique, a famend cultural venue, Superpower Studios breaks the mildew by inviting kids to be the architects of their very own imaginative experiences. The area is designed to be a rich celebration of the facility of play, turning a gallery go to into an interactive journey. The idea behind the studio is to mix artwork and play in ways in which permit households to discover their creativity whereas emphasizing the significance of inclusion and connection.
This initiative is backed by LEGO’s analysis, which underscores how very important play is to household happiness and youngster growth. Their findings reveal that households who have interaction in common play are sometimes the happiest, but the analysis additionally highlights regarding traits, together with confined entry to safe and sound play environments and the unfavourable affect of digital gadgets on household interactions. With so many limitations, LEGO’s mission is evident: to encourage households to prioritize playful actions and rediscover the advantages of imaginative playtime collectively.
The gallery’s immersive expertise is delivered to life by a staff of worldwide Play Ambassadors, who’re artists and creators identified for his or her pioneering work and dedication to fostering creativity. Led by Sarah Andelman, a famend curator identified for her visionary retail area Colette, the Play Ambassadors infuse their distinctive inventive kinds into the area. The vivid illustrations of French artist Aurélia Durand, the intricate paper-cutting work of Chinese language artist Chen Fenwan, and the unimaginable LEGO sculptures of Ghanian-Canadian artist Ekow Nimako are all integral elements of the gallery’s design, providing guests a number of methods to work together with artwork and play.
Every part of the gallery presents a definite inventive expertise, all centered on the theme of playful creativity. In Fenwan’s “Forest of Needs,” guests contribute to a rising set up by constructing LEGO seeds, representing desires and hopes, and including them to the forest. Durand’s “Remix Room” affords a digital artwork expertise the place company can remix her colourful illustrations, creating fresh types of artwork in real-time. In the meantime, Nimako’s “Legendary Maze” immerses guests in a fantastical world impressed by Ghanaian mythology, the place they will assemble guardian creatures to guard the earth.
The gallery additionally emphasizes the position of play in bringing folks collectively throughout variations. LEGO’s analysis signifies that play is an crucial software for constructing inclusive communities, because it fosters pleasure and connection no matter age, background, or capacity. By turning play right into a shared expertise, Superpower Studios goals to interrupt down limitations and encourage folks from all walks of life to interact creatively with each other.
This initiative extends past Paris. World wide, LEGO is launching extra playful experiences, together with a pop-up in Japan the place kids can mix culinary creativity with LEGO play, a playful studying room in China, and collaborations with public figures like Emma Watkins in Australia to revamp areas by the lens of play. “Once we see the world by the untethered and imaginative perspective of youngsters, it transforms into a spot brimming with creativity, pleasure and connection. Creativity prospers once we embrace playfulness as our muse – it’s the spark that ignites innovation, turns the extraordinary into the extraordinary and brings various and distinctive communities and visions collectively. That’s what Superpower Studios is all about,” shares Andelman.
To additional their mission, LEGO can be making a long-term dedication to rising entry to play for underserved communities. By a partnership with La Villette, the corporate will provide free workshops and play classes to over 87,000 deprived kids in Paris over the following two years. This initiative will present much-needed alternatives for households who lack entry to safe and sound, inexpensive play areas.
Sadly, Superpower Studios in Paris was solely open from September 11 – sixteenth, 2024. Hopefully LEGO will proceed to open these immersive artwork galleries in additional cities sooner or later! For extra info from LEGO, head to lego.com.