NGV Kids Summer Festival and Kids on Tour 2026 will bring a burst of colour, creativity and fun to families across Victoria this January.
Running from 10 to 16 January 2026, the NGV Kids Summer Festival transforms the Gallery into a week-long celebration of imagination and play, with a vibrant program of free events designed for children and families. Across NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, visitors can enjoy disco dance parties, live performances, drawing workshops and storytelling sessions that encourage kids to get creative and active.
Throughout the Festival and across the summer months, the NGV Children’s Gallery becomes an immersive fashion playground with Let’s Party! Fashion for Kids: Designed by Danielle Brustman. Featuring bold colours, dress-ups, dancing and eye-catching garments, the exhibition invites children to explore fashion as a form of fun and self-expression.
Exclusive to the Festival week, comedian Rich Higgins from kids’ comedy duo The Listies will host a lively joke-making workshop, while Kids Disco Parties take over the NGV Great Hall, creating the perfect dance floor under the Hall’s colourful canopy. Inspired by the Let’s Party! exhibition, families can also drop in for hands-on drawing and collage activities, designing their own fashion creations.
Families can take part in a wide range of engaging experiences throughout the Festival. Artist and educator Bushra Hasan will lead interactive family tours, sharing unexpected stories from the NGV Collection of art and design. Teenagers are invited behind the scenes for a private tour of the NGV Conservation lab, offering a rare look at how artworks are cared for and prepared for display. A photobooth, supported by Major Partner Mercedes-Benz, will give families the chance to capture and share their Festival memories.
At The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, First Nations-led activities offer meaningful cultural experiences for young visitors. Ngarrindjeri artist and educator Emma Stenhouse will lead drawing and weaving workshops while sharing the Ngarrindjeri story of Pondi, the ancestral river cod whose powerful tail shaped the curves of the Murray River. Children can also create their own fish puppet inspired by the story.
On Level 2, children can explore works by Hermannsburg Potters, whose terracotta pots are painted with stories of culture, Country, bush tucker and a love of football. Inspired by these artworks, kids are invited to draw their own sporting moments. Story time sessions led by Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri artist and educator Tania Rossi will introduce families to First Nations artworks from the NGV Collection, followed by readings from much-loved children’s books.
Relaxed Sessions will be held on 14 and 15 January, offering early access to the Let’s Party! children’s exhibition and Great Hall activities for visitors who prefer a quieter environment with reduced sensory stimulation.
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks MP said the Victorian Government is proud to support the annual NGV Kids Summer Festival, which delivers a packed program of free activities for children and families during the summer holidays.
NGV Director Tony Ellwood AM said the 2026 Festival invites families to explore creativity, fashion and self-expression through Let’s Party!, while enjoying a rich mix of performances, hands-on art-making and First Nations-led programs that connect children with Indigenous culture and storytelling.
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