While you Shop: The House of Shadow Santas Workshop


Date: Dec 14
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: Art Gallery Classroom
Workshop

While caregivers catch up on holiday shopping, children ages 8-11, can explore their creativity through the magical world of shadow puppetry! This beginner-friendly workshop will guide participants through the history of shadow theatre and its unlimited potential for storytelling.

Our programming team will lead participants through The Rooms to find inspiration in our beautiful galleries, including our festive exhibit: The House of Wooden Santas.

What to Expect:

  • We will learn the basics of storytelling
  • We will design shadow puppets (all materials are included)
  • We will premiere a shadow puppet show for friends and family
  • We’ll also enjoy some hot chocolate and a cookie, visit the galleries and take in all the holiday decorations at the Rooms along the way

Cost: $35 plus HST (10% Discount for Rooms Members). Limited spaces! Pre-registration required. To book your child’s space, please contact Visitor Services at (709) 757-8090.

Events & Programs

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

This event has been cancelled due to illness. Tickets will be refunded. A new date will be announced when confirmed.

Have you ever wondered about the connections between creativity and neurodivergence, such as autism, ADHD, or dyslexia? From attention to detail to pattern recognition and language originality, neurodivergent artists can display talents that could be considered advantages.

Join us for a moderated panel discussion with Dr. Andreae Callanan and Dr. Kate Lahey, who will talk about how neurodivergent people express creativity in unique, unconventional ways.

Part of the discussion will address some challenges for neurodivergent artists during and following the creative process, such as executive functioning, sleep disturbances, and burnout. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions following the presentation.

Cost: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Register online or by calling (709) 757-8090.

About the Panelists:

Andreae Callanan holds a PhD in English from Memorial and serves as co-convener of the Research and Knowledge Exchange on Critical Disability Studies at the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research. Her debut poetry collection, The Debt (Biblioasis, 2021), was shortlisted for the E. J. Pratt Family Poetry Prize and was a runner-up in the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry. Andreae’s creative and critical writing has been published in Riddle Fence, The Walrus, Newfoundland Quarterly, Canadian Notes & Queries, Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, and in Best Canadian Essays 2026. She lives in St. John’s.

Dr. Kate Lahey holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, is the front person of the band Weary, and writes arts criticism. As a musician, writer, scholar, community organizer, and postdoctoral fellow at Memorial’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, her research centers on trauma-informed values such as healing, care, empathy, and social justice.