the HOME program– Elemental: An Adventure in Paper

Elemental: An adventure in paper!

Come along with your wild child to make, play, and build a world of earth, fire, water, and air at The Wetlands Centre.

Across Term 2, families will work with artists Rachel Riggs, Rickeeta Walley, Lakshmi Kanchi, and Kate Hannah to create a magical paper world inside The Wetlands Centre. Each week, children and their grown-ups will add something new: flowers, bees, butterflies, shadow puppets, water poems, flying creatures, paper trees, underwater animals, rainbows, and decorations.

Little by little, the rooms will begin to change.

• Earth will grow.

• Fire will flicker with shadows and stories.

• Water will ripple with poems, colour, and underwater creatures.

• Air will fill with wings, kites, paper planes, and rainbows.

This is not a sit-and-watch workshop. It is a hands-on family making adventure. Children are invited to imagine, build, perform, move, tell stories, and help shape the installation as it grows.

By the end of the term, everything the children and families make will become part of four large immersive Elemental installations. These will come together for a special community sharing and performance in July, celebrating the world created by the children, families, and artists.

Come for one session, or follow the whole journey across the term.

Dates for Term 2 2026

Location

The Wetlands Centre Cockburn
184 Hope Road, Bibra Lake WA 6163

Who it’s for

Families with children of all ages. Children must be accompanied by a parent, carer, or guardian at all times.

Tickets

$10 per child for a casual session.
Accompanying adults and carers attend free.
Babies in arms are free.
A full term pass is available for $65 per child.

Spaces are limited, so bookings are essential.

July Community Sharing

The children’s creations will become part of a larger Elemental installation and community performance in July 2026.

Families who take part in the workshops will help build the world that audiences later step into. It is a chance for children to see their ideas grow into something bigger, shared with family, friends, and the wider community.

What to bring

• Water bottle

• Comfortable clothes for making, moving, and creative play

Provided

• All art materials

• Creative guidance provided by Rachel Riggs, Rickeeta Walley, Lakshmi Kanchi, and Kate Hannah

• Hands-on making, storytelling, poetry, movement, shadow play, and sensory art experiences

This program is supported by: The WA Government, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport (CITS WA), and Healthway through the Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People Fund.

About the Artists

Rachel Riggs

Rachel Riggs is an internationally experienced puppeteer, theatre-maker, and creative learning artist. Through DNA Puppetry and her wider arts practice, Rachel creates imaginative worlds where children can make, move, perform, and play.

For Elemental, Rachel brings together puppetry, paper craft, installation, storytelling, and performance. Her work supports children to explore big ideas through simple materials, hands-on making, and shared imagination. In this program, she will guide families through the creation of a playful paper world where earth, fire, water, and air come alive.

Rickeeta Walley

Rickeeta Walley is a proud Nyoongar woman living and working on Whadjuk Country. She is a cultural educator, storyteller, performer, and community artist with a strong connection to culture, nature, poetry, and place.

Rickeeta has worked with children, families, and people with disability through storytelling, poetry, and creative expression. She supports young people to write, create, and enact their own poems and stories. She has also volunteered with The Wetlands Centre Cockburn for many years, bringing deep care for the wetlands and the community around them.

In Elemental, Rickeeta will contribute to the shadow play and storytelling parts of the installation, helping children explore how stories can be made, shared, and brought to life.

Lakshmi Kanchi / SoulReserve

Lakshmi Kanchi, also known by her pen name SoulReserve, is an Australian poet of Indian heritage, storyteller, and teaching artist. Her poetry explores love, language, memory, land, culture, and the natural world.

Lakshmi works with children, families, and community groups to make poetry feel alive, playful, and accessible. Her work often connects writing with nature, place, and belonging.

At The Wetlands Centre, Lakshmi’s work is rooted in helping people feel at home with the natural world. In Elemental, she will help children turn water, wetlands, and imagination into poems, banners, and spoken moments that become part of the wider installation.

Kate Hannah

Kate Hannah, also known as Kate Hannah Creatrix, is an intuitive artist and creative workshop facilitator. Her practice includes creative sessions, community art experiences, workshops, and hands-on making for children, adults, and families.

Kate brings a warm, imaginative, and practical approach to creative play. She supports children to trust their ideas, experiment with materials, and enjoy the process of making together.

For Elemental, Kate will guide children and families through air-inspired construction, including paper planes, kites, birds, flying things, and the creation of a rainbow for the shared installation.

Book your place and be part of eight Saturdays of elemental play, imagination, and family creativity.