The National Gallery of Victoria and Mathery Studio have turned drawing into a total immersive experience that encourages children to color outside the lines.

Italian multi-disciplinary design firm Mathery Studio has been commissioned by the NGV to create a kids-only space in the museum: a space that focused on challenging traditional drawing techniques. Rather than setting up tables and chairs and letting children draw with pencils on pads, Mathery Studio created an area where the kids are truly free to become active components in the drawing process.

Pastello – Draw Act is an incredibly playful and immersive space for kids to truly explore and experiment with the concept of drawing. Walls, floors, and even furniture vary between drawing surfaces and drawing tools. The drawing utensils themselves were mainly made of melted oil pastel – but kids won’t find any traditional Crayola shaped ones to use. In the exhibition space, children will find helmets with embedded pastel spheres, spoons and forks dipped in bright colored wax, and even shoes with crayon bottoms.

With any of the truly awesome drawing tools, kids are free to make a mess and question traditional drawing ideas. And this chance to create art in fun, creative, and incredibly unique ways is definitely grooming the next generation of provocative artists and designers.

Photography courtesy of Mathery Studio