Art Gallery of NSW and Black Dog Institute Launch 8-Week Programme for Anxious Kids
The Black Dog Institute, in collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), has launched Culture Dose for Kids (CDK), an initiative designed for children aged 9 to 12 experiencing anxiety, along with their parents. This eight-week program consists of 90-minute sessions that concentrate on three artworks, encouraging mindfulness and engagement. Danielle Gullotta introduced the initiative at the Museums, Health & Wellbeing Summit 2026. Each session features a visual diary for participants to express their thoughts, with no set outcomes. Positive reframing of concerns empowers attendees, supported by research. Backed by the Jibb Foundation, the program will extend to 10 to 14 regional galleries in New South Wales, while the Black Dog Institute evaluates the data and plans an online toolkit for other museums.
Key facts
- Culture Dose for Kids (CDK) is an eight-week programme for children aged 9 to 12 with anxiety and their parents or guardians.
- The programme was developed by the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) and the Black Dog Institute.
- Each 90-minute session involves looking at three artworks, making something with no right answer, and optional discussion.
- Danielle Gullotta, AGNSW's Senior Access Programmes Producer, presented the programme at the Museums, Health & Wellbeing Summit 2026.
- The programme separates children and parents into different groups during artwork viewing, then reunites them for discussion and studio art-making.
- A shared fabric artwork built from week four to week eight allows participants to work over each other's marks, making perfection impossible.
- The Jibb Foundation has funded the three-year collaboration, and the programme is being shared with 10 to 14 regional galleries across New South Wales.
- Each child receives an art resource pack with a sketchbook, watercolour pencils, pens, a Posca pen, graphite pencils, and eight postcards of AGNSW collection works.
Entities
Artists
- Danielle Gullotta
Institutions
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Black Dog Institute
- Museums, Health & Wellbeing Summit
- MuseumNext
- Jibb Foundation
- Oxford University Gardens, Libraries & Museums
- Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery
Locations
- New South Wales
- Australia