Mosaic of Marks, Words, Materials Exhibition 2025
Coming soon to:
Sydney in partnership with Marrickville Library: 30 August – 22 September 2025
and
Rockhampton in partnership with Central Queensland University in 10 – 26 October 2025
REAIE is delighted to bring the internationally acclaimed Mosaic of Marks, Words, and Materials exhibition to Sydney, following a profoundly engaging and widely attended season in Adelaide. Developed by Reggio Children, the exhibition showcases the research from the Infant-Toddler Centres and Preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, making visible the dialogue between mark-making, drawing, and narration as children construct meaning and communicate through multiple expressive languages.
Previously exhibited across Italy, the USA, Mexico, Vietnam, Peru, the UAE, Singapore, and China, the exhibition now continues its Australian journey, inviting educators, families, and communities to encounter the richness of children’s creative processes.
As part of your visit, we invite you to participate in an Interactive Atelier, offering opportunities to:
- Explore materials: Engage hands-on with graphic tools and surfaces in dialogue
- Reflect on pedagogical perspectives: Deepen your understanding of how drawing and narration support meaning-making
- Encounter inspiring contexts: Collaborate with others to experience environments that honour the hundred languages of children.
This FREE exhibition is open to all, but bookings are essential as sessions are supported by volunteers.
Additional opportunities are available to encounter the research embedded throughout the exhibition. Professional learning workshops will be offered alongside the exhibition and atelier experiences, facilitated by educators who have engaged directly with Reggio Children and hold a deep understanding of the conceptual threads of the research. These sessions offer rich encounters with materials and ideas to deepen your understanding and extend the experience beyond the exhibition space.
Exhibitions as Places of Democracy: The Piazza of Exchange and Dialogue
Exhibitions like Mosaic of Marks, Words, and Material can be seen as democratic spaces, echoing the metaphor of the piazza—a central gathering place in Italian culture where people meet, exchange ideas, and engage in meaningful dialogue. This vision aligns deeply with the Reggio Emilia philosophy, advocating for children’s rights to be seen, heard, and valued as citizens within their communities.
In the context of an exhibition, the piazza becomes a place of intellectual and affective exchange, where diverse voices—children, educators, families, and the broader community—come together to interpret and reflect on children’s work. Educators, children, families and the broader community come together to encounter, interpret and marvel at children’s work, contributing to the collective understanding of childhood and learning.
Championing the Rights of Children
The piazza metaphor makes visible the Reggio Emilia principle that children are active participants in society, capable of making meaningful contributions. Exhibitions bring children’s processes of thinking and creativity into public view, asserting their rights to express themselves, to be visible, and to be understood as constructors of knowledge. These spaces honour children’s expressions, theories and ideas and challenge societal perceptions, advocating for their role as contributors to the cultural and social fabric.
A Meeting Place of Perspectives
The piazza-like quality of exhibitions fosters an exchange of perspectives across generations and roles:
- Families are invited to encounter the richness of their children’s experience in new ways, sparking opportunities for dialogue about children’s learning processes.
- Educators find professional reflection and dialogue opportunities, deepening their understandings of children’s thinking.
- Communities gain insight into the value of early childhood education and the importance of empowering environments where children can thrive through the hundred languages of learning.
A Catalyst for Advocacy
By positioning children’s work in a shared, public space, exhibitions advocate for a broader cultural acknowledgment of children’s rights. They become catalysts for ongoing dialogue about the role of education, the visibility of childhood, and the responsibilities of society in nurturing and respecting the youngest citizens.
Reflective Questions for Practice
- How can exhibitions function as spaces that amplify children’s rights to participation and expression?
- What steps can we take to create more opportunities for exchange, dialogue and advocacy within our educational settings?
- In what ways can exhibitions help foster a deeper cultural understanding of children’s contributions to society?
