Protective masks protect you and others—we’ve known that since the coronavirus pandemic began. But if we put on a masbrink that covers our whole face, we can be someone else, can transform into a fantasy creature, an animal, or a superhero. Many of the artists featured in the exhibition also find such a transformation and spectacle exciting. We look at selected artworks together and listen to sounds and music. Afterward, we think about who we want to be and how we can represent this in a mask drawing or using different materials.

© Photo: Berliner Figurentheater

In the opera and theater, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad stories are told. Together, we go on a tour of the exhibition and discover works of art in the form of a miniature theater, silhouettes, or sculptures that look like a chandelier and a bed at the same time. We learn more about their meaning, listen to sounds and music. Afterward, the children will be encouraged to put their own worlds, dreams, and fantasies into a drawing, which will then be performed as a stage set.

Almost every child knows The Magic Flute, and famous Italian opera arias are sometimes used in coffee or pizza advertising. Opera reflects the drama of life: love, deception, murder, forgiveness! The fascination for music, performance, fashion, and stage design is shared by many contemporary artists. After a joint tour of the exhibition, students will discuss selected works in light of today’s video and social media worlds.

© Photo: Vanessa Schmidt

The Opera Opera exhibition revolves around theater and opera. The award-winning children’s book Die Tode meiner Mutter (The Deaths of My Mother) by Carla Haslbauer also focuses on stage and drama. In the course of a single day, Mama undergoes many a transformation: Sometimes she’s very quiet, sometimes loud and quick-tempered. During the day she plays with the children, but in the evening she changes into a stunning opera singer. Sometimes the children are allowed to attend the performances, and all of them are deeply impressed by her terrible and beautiful deaths. Tell the wonderfully illustrated story as picture theater and bring your own scenes to the stage in the subsequent theater workshop.

In cooperation with the bookstore Krumulus

Photo: »Die Tode meiner Mutter« von Carla Haslbauer © 2021 NordSüd Verlag AG, Zürich/Schweiz

Many artists love opera and theater. It is not uncommon for them to design stage sets or make costumes themselves. To begin with, we will take a look at the large stage of the State Opera—without any singers or actors. But how did the artists featured at the PalaisPopulaire depict the stage in sculptures, videos, and photographic works? After a short exploratory tour of the exhibition Opera Opera, we will transform our own ideas into creative stage designs made of board, paper, cardboard, and recycled materials.

In cooperation with the Berlin State Opera

Free exhibition expedition with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

The Opera Opera exhibition revolves around opera, drama, film, and performance. Since music always plays a major role in all of them, the Berliner Philharmoniker and the PalaisPopulaire invite children from 5 and older to a musical exhibition expedition. A visit to the exhibition becomes a first concert experience with children invited to participate, but also to listen and watch.