Story Sundays

Children are always welcome at our gallery!

Galleria Longa is situated in the heart of the urban Kalasatama district, surrounded by apartment blocks. We wanted to pay particular attention to the children living in the area, so we created our own guided gallery visit for children. Children from further afield are warmly welcome too!

The concept is centred on children. We begin by sitting on cushions on the gallery floor, while the guide introduces themself and the gallery. Together, in a positive spirit, we discuss what visitors can and cannot do in the gallery. We then explore the exhibition, pausing to talk about the works that particularly interest the children. We approach the works by listening to the children, talking, observing and reflecting with them. At the end of the visit, the group chooses one work as the starting point for a shared story.

Storytelling is a wonderful companion to visual art. It allows children to make a work their own and take it wherever their imagination leads. In art education, it is important to bring different forms of visual art close to children’s own ways of thinking and to create space for them to put their thoughts into words. Children are naturally skilled at looking at art.

During the storytelling exercise, the children dictate a story they have invented, sentence by sentence, taking turns. An adult guide writes down every word exactly as they say it, acting as the group’s ‘secretary’. The guide does not influence the content; the children decide everything in their story. Every child is encouraged to take part, while the shyest may contribute just a single word. No one has to participate if they feel too shy. Once the story is finished, the guide reads it aloud to the group. Each participant receives a copy to take home. The story can be continued at home through illustrations – or even with a sequel of its own.

A suitable group size for our gallery space is 4–8 children aged 4–10. The guided visit lasts approximately one hour.

Languages: Finnish or English

Participation is free of charge. The project has been supported by the City of Helsinki.

Book your place for Story Sundays

Story Sundays take place on the last Sunday of every month at 2 pm.

In your message, please include your child’s age and name, as well as the date of the Story Sunday you would like to attend.

Welcome!