Children are being invited to take part in the recreation of a famous art masterpiece in Bradford.
Pieter Bruegel’s ‘Children’s Games’ dates from 1560 and depicts more than 200 children playing 80 different games.
Bradford-based photographer Tim Smith will capture a contemporary re-working of the scene in Centenary Square, Bradford, as part of the Games in the Park scheme being led by Bradford Council.
Young people aged from five to 15 are needed to take part in the tableau, which will take place on Saturday, 16 June, from 11am.
It is one of more than 100 events taking place across the region commissioned by imove, Legacy Trust UK’s celebratory programme for Yorkshire and part of the Cultural Olympiad.
Games in the Park events are to be held across the region allowing people of all ages to indulge in nostalgic activities such as skipping, hopscotch, blind man’s buff and hide and seek, as well as take part in more modern activities like free running and wheelchair rugby.
Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s Executive Member responsible for culture, said: "It’s great that Bradford has secured this imaginative opportunity for our young people to participate in the Cultural Olympiad.
"It will capture the games children play together today in Britain as well as some of the traditional activities of long ago. I’m really looking forward to seeing the final result.”
The ‘Children’s Games’ scene will be choreographed by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and the final photo will appear in a Cartwright Hall Art Gallery exhibition later this year.
All children must be accompanied by a parent or authorised adult. Consent forms are available below.
Anyone who wants further information can call 01274 432653 or email rashmi.sudhir@bradford.gov.uk.
Around the region, other Games in the Park events will include dazzling demonstrations of skipping and freerunning, plus show-stopping performances by dancers from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, combining athleticism with feline grace as they perform responses to the various movements embodied in games.
Games in the Park is a collaborative project run in association with Bradford Council’s Department of Regeneration and Culture, Alchemy, National Centre for Early Music, Harewood House, Hull City Council and Ryedale Folk Museum, with creative support from the National Media Museum and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
