The Imaginarium storytelling installation for children opens tomorrow (January 29) in the ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall, London. It’s the latest in a series of events to inspire children’s creativity funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Storyteller in residence Jan Blake has collaborated with six schools in the London borough of Lambeth to produce work inspired by the Africa Remix exhibition at the Hayward Gallery and the bicentenary of Hans Christian Andersen’s birth. In the “city of stories” setting designed by Nina Ayres, children can encounter characters from Anansi the spider to Gerda of The Snow Queen at bus stops, in tower blocks or within walls. Exploring the Imaginarium during RFH opening hours is free throughout February, with free Saturday storytelling for under-fives; there’s a support programme of South Bank Centre half-term author events from February 15 to 17, tickets pound;7pound;4.50 concessions for each event. Poets John Agard, Valerie Bloom and Michael Rosen kick off the programme on February 15 before Jacqueline Wilson meets her fans at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Jan Blake and musician Kouame Sereba offer a Creole retelling of Andersen’s story “Big Claus, Little Claus” in a specially commissioned show on February 17. Full details at www.rfh.org.ukimagine.