We invite children aged 7–12 to join the art workshop Composition: Basics, a four-session course where participants will explore the main principles of composition and learn to recognise them in art, architecture, and the surrounding environment.

During the sessions, children will explore how rhythm, symmetry and asymmetry, contrast and nuance, static and dynamic composition, balance, scale, proportion, and dominance work. They will look for these principles in Tselinny’s two current exhibitions, in the architecture of the building itself, and in individual artworks, before applying them in their own work.

The course will also offer another way to engage with Balnura Nussipova’s exhibition Ümit Playground: Memory Games and the architectural exhibition A Return to Form, dedicated to Almaty’s First Government House and Constructivist architecture. Children will look at the exhibitions through specific visual principles and gain a better understanding of how artists and architects work with form, colour, rhythm, scale, and space.

Each session includes a short theoretical introduction, exploration of an exhibition or part of Tselinny, and practical work in Atelier. Over the four sessions, children will work with different materials and techniques, including paper and markers, watercolour, plasticine, fabric, and sewing.

Programme

September 6, 2:00–3:30 pm
Session 1. Rhythm and Symmetry
We explore metre, rhythm, symmetry and asymmetry, as well as horizontal, vertical, and radial axes. Participants look for these principles in the exhibition A Return to Form and in the architecture of the building, then create a three-dimensional symmetrical composition using paper.

September 13, 2:00–3:30 pm
Session 2. Nuance and Contrast
We look at how nuance and contrast work through form and colour. Participants find examples in Balnura Nussipova’s exhibition Ümit Playground: Memory Games, then create their own watercolour painting.

September 20, 2:00–3:30 pm
Session 3. Static, Dynamic, and Scale
We discuss static and dynamic composition, equilibrium, balance, proportion, and scale. Participants explore Tselinny’s façades, interior, and surrounding space, then create a sculptural composition in plasticine titled Something Very Small, Something Very Big.

September 27, 2:00–3:30 pm
Session 4. Dominance and the Centre of Composition
We explore the centre of composition, homogeneous composition, and dominance. Participants look at these principles through Yevgeny Sidorkin’s panel in Tselinny’s lobby and create a composition from geometric textile elements.

The sessions will be led by Ekaterina Nikonorova — educator, artist, architect, inclusive art therapist, and dance movement therapist. She graduated from the Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering and the Moscow Institute of Integral Psychology, and completed an internship at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She has taught art and led art therapy programmes in schools, hospitals, foundations, and universities, and has developed her own courses on art and architecture for children.

All sessions will begin and end at Atelier, Tselinny’s educational space on the second floor. During the sessions, participants will also visit the exhibitions and explore the building.

Each session lasts 1.5 hours. The price for one session is 8,000 KZT, while the full four-session course costs 27,000 KZT.

The sessions will be held in Russian.

Registration

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