artist & educator
madikendraws@gmail.com
- Forbidden Playground
- TURANDOT
- MOTHER
- Ebb and Flow
- Mixed Feelings
- Manty, Mantu, Manta
- Clouds, Power
- Collective Parenthood
- Azbuka Strikes Back
- Burn Zhalmauyz Kempir
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The project was initiated and curated by artist Madina Joldybek (Kazakhstan) in collaboration with the artist duo Leap Then Look (UK), with the participation of other artists and researchers. This festival is part of Madina Joldybek’s artistic research project, which explores caregiving and parenthood, play in public spaces, and resistance to the capitalist rhythms that shape childhood today.
The festival program included:
- interactive installations, activities for free play;
- workshops with artists Leap Then Look and Madina Joldybek;
- workshop by contemporary dance theatre, Jolda;
- a creative writing session for mothers with researcher Elmira Kakabayeva;
- collective textile weaving of the Motherhood Manifesto.
- a panel discussion titled Let Children Play with artists Leap Then Look, Madina Joldybek, social-emotional learning expert Kuralay Zharkymbayeva, architect Asel Yeszhanova, and curator Inga Lāce.
A collective weaving practice of the Ma-Ma-Manifesto! 💅🏽💪🏽 with Madina Joldybek. Through weaving and conversation, mothers were invited to express how they wish to be seen, understood, accepted, and supported by the world around them, transforming personal experiences into a shared vision of care and belonging.
Leap Then Look’s Soft Sculptures in collaboration with Madina Joldybek. Children and adults immersed themselves in a world of soft, tactile shapes that could be hugged, worn, and connected to create new objects for exploration and play. Half of the soft sculptures were created in collaboration with Madina Joldybek, drawing inspiration from extinct and endangered animals native to the region. Throughout the museum, visitors encountered the Syr Darya sturgeon, the Turanian tiger, the snow leopard, and other remarkable species brought to life through playful forms.
In Leap Then Look’s 100 Miles of String, Looking Devices, and the Blindfolded Clay Workshop, participants were invited to weave collective installation, explore the museum through handheld lenses, and engage with clay through touch and intuition, discovering new ways of connecting with space, materials, and one another.
Madina Joldybek’s mask-making workshop. A way to express one’s inner world through imagery and transformation. The workshop encouraged children to explore all parts of themselves—from the brave and playful to the silly and mysterious.
Embodied Labyrinth Workshop by Jolda
Children and adults explored movement, states of being, and masks inspired by Turkic myths and fairy tales through a process of performative exploration.
In many schools and childcare facilities, play is increasingly becoming restricted and strictly structured: children are constantly being evaluated, and their free time is being replaced by screens. There is less and less room for spontaneous play: between adults’ 9-to-6 jobs, household, and family obligations, and children’s schoolwork and endless homework, a general sense of fatigue and exhaustion is becoming increasingly apparent. Forbidden Playground restored boredom and free play to their vital role in fostering imagination, emotional development, and a healthy connection with one’s own body.
Alongside these urban interventions, Forbidden Playground aimed to create a safe and non-judgmental space for mothers where they can share their experiences, be heard, and offer each other support. The project challenged their marginalisation: in urban settings, the presence of mothers with young children is still often perceived as “undesirable,” despite the importance of caregiving – work that is often invisible and underpaid, yet essential for sustaining life and the future of society.
By inviting mothers to join the conversation and creating an opportunity to slow down, Forbidden Playground encouraged us to view childcare not as a private matter, but as a vital part of our infrastructure.
The festival was organised by the Almaty Museum of Arts with support from the British Council’s Connections Through Culture programme, and in collaboration with the Main Botanical Garden of Almaty.