Chromakinda

<p dir="ltr">Research Background </p><p dir="ltr">Chromakinda constituted the inaugural commission for MAMA Museum's newly established Kids Gallery, investigating how contemporary art institutions can facilitate child-cantered learning through immersive, participatory environments. This research builds upon established pedagogical theories of play-based learning, particularly constructivist approaches that position children as active knowledge-makers rather than passive recipients. The project employed installation art methodologies to create a fully activated space featuring psychedelic wall paintings, suspended orb-like light sculptures, performance costumes for multiple age groups, stage curtains opening onto the street, and chalkboard portals for drawing. Extending beyond the primary installation, Dwyer curated five Wonder Cupboard interventions by Sarah Goffman, Stevie Fieldsend, Kate O'Boyle, Adriane Boag, and Hossein Ghaemi, creating a scavenger-hunt experience that dispersed artistic encounters throughout the museum's architecture, encouraging exploratory movement and discovery. </p><p dir="ltr">Research Significance </p><p dir="ltr">This work advances critical understanding of how museums can decenter adult spectatorship and create genuinely inclusive spaces for young visitors. By positioning children as primary audiences rather than secondary educational targets, the project challenges institutional hierarchies that privilege contemplative viewing over embodied interaction. The research contributes to discourse on participatory aesthetics and relational art practices, demonstrating how artists can design open-ended systems for creative activation rather than prescriptive experiences. The integration of performance elements—costumes, stage curtains, public-facing theatrical opportunities—validates children's imaginative play as legitimate cultural production. The Wonder Cupboard component contributes methodologically to exhibition-making, modelling how curatorial frameworks can create spatial narratives that transform museum navigation into adventure. The project's significance extends to institutional programming, establishing replicable models for annual artist residencies focused on intergenerational engagement. </p><p dir="ltr">Research Contribution </p><p dir="ltr">Chromakinda contributes to expanding definitions of public pedagogy and the artist's role as educator-facilitator. The work demonstrates how psychedelic aesthetics and chromatic intensity can function as cognitive stimulants for young audiences, validating sensory abundance over minimalist restraint in children's cultural spaces. By embedding drawing surfaces directly into the installation's architecture, the project collapses boundaries between viewing and making, contributing to discourse on co-creation and the artwork as perpetually unfinished. The research models how artists can curate intergenerational exhibitions that respect children's agency while providing multiple entry points for varied developmental stages. The Wonder Cupboard format contributes innovative approaches to spatial storytelling within institutional contexts, demonstrating how art can activate architecture through strategic placement and discovery-based engagement. Importantly, the project establishes frameworks for annual artist rotations, contributing to sustainable models for maintaining dynamic, evolving children's programming within public institutions.</p>