Acknowledgment of country

Polyglot acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and create, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. For more than 65,000 years, children and families have created and played here, and we are grateful to make our art on this country too.


Kids Collaborations

Reciprocity is at the heart of our Kids Collaborations.

Polyglot develops deep, trusting relationships with communities who often have limited access to the arts, and seek authentic creative engagement for their young people. These projects centralise children and their worldview as the drivers of new, specific works of art, co-created with Polyglot artists. Engagement ranges from a single term in a school, to years of deep relationship in a community.

Polyglot has recognised expertise in supporting community cultural resilience and capacity through our Kids Collaborations. We adhere to cultural protocols established by peak bodies, as well as additional protocols developed with particular people and communities we work with.

A Totems production photo. Students in red and black uniforms hold up a huge Gurrgiyn / praying mantis made from cane and hessian. They are outdoors, among trees, next to a blue fabric river. Family and friends watch. Photo: Alicia Fox

Totems

A First Nations-led Kids Collaboration that asks children: What do you want the kids of Australia to know about this place? Totems is an interactive experience that …
An Us. Here. Now. production photo. A child in a blue and white school uniform and black headscarf smiles at the camera, holding up their pink tissue paper creation. Other children create and play in the background. Photographer: Sarah Walker

Us. Here. Now.

In 2023, Polyglot and The Venny embarked on a new Kids Collaboration to empower local children through creative participation. Us. Here. Now. brings together Polyglot Theatre’s …
A LINK/Come Back Home creative development photo. A small child wearing a face mask runs through a large space, across circles and a long path of shiny aluminium foil. An artist follows the child. Part of the space is enclosed with large, aluminium foil covered screens. Photo: AlvieAlive, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore.

Singapore

Beginning in 2021, artists from Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and Polyglot Theatre worked together to make a new, participatory experience for and with …
A First On The Ladder photo. A group of children in blue Rumbalara sports jerseys choreograph a dance on a netball court. Blue sky with sparse white clouds is visible behind them.

Rumbalara Football Netball Club

Rumba Shop! is our three-year collaboration with Rumbalara Football Netball Club, an Aboriginal-led sports club in Yorta Yorta country (Shepparton, VIC). This project focuses on …
A creative development photo from Indonesia. Three small children crouch on grey concrete, wearing or holding colourful, handmade boat-shaped hats. A large paper boat and other people are visible in the background.

Indonesia

Since 2008, Polyglot Theatre and Papermoon Puppet Theatre have collaborated on multiple projects. We explore the cultural influences of installation, interactive theatre performance and puppetry with …
A Paper Planet workshop photo. Children and Polyglot artists wearing various paper costumes crowd around a large cardboard structure. They are in a classroom filled with tall brown cardboard trees.

Japan

Polyglot Theatre is honoured to have a warm, long-standing connection with Japan. In 2011, the east coast was devastated by a massive tsunami and Minami Sanriku …
A 5678 Film Club photo. Two students stand in a school library. One holds a camera and is looking directly at the photographer. The other is side on, looking into the camera the other is holding.

5678 Film Club

5678 Film Club was a three-year project that supported young people making the transition between primary and secondary school in Collingwood, Melbourne. It ran as a …
A Mahogany Rise school residency photo. A child wrapped in black paper smiles at the camera.

Mahogany Rise

Our extended school residency program with Mahogany Rise Primary School in Frankston North spanned six years, from 2011 to 2017. Through our annual projects, we …