THE director of a city centre gallery has launched a new series of events in a bid to get more families into a £30 million arts complex.

Woodrow Kernohan and his team at the John Hansard Gallery in Guildhall Square have come up with a programme designed for Southampton families and children.

The events in Studio 144’s south building are inspired by upcoming exhibitions at the Above Bar venue.

Mr Kernohan said he wants the prestigious – and internationally renowned gallery – to be a space “for the community.”

Education leaders at the gallery have been working with communities in Northam, Newtown and St Mary’s since the building opened earlier this year.

Mr Kernohan said: “It’s been really good to have conversations with communities. They are our neighbours. We are developing workshops and programmes together. We are trying to build links so we can work together.”

Space to Create is a free family activity day every Saturday from 11.30-4pm.

November 24: Everyday Objects in the foyer – Transform everyday domestic objects into new sculptures inspired by performance artist Lisa Watts who will be exhibiting in Gallery 1.

December 1: Exploring the gallery – Grab free materials from the front desk to take with you and write or draw about what you see.

December 8: Camera Obscura – Learn about the origins of photography and build your own pin-hole camera. Led by ‘In Focus’ photographers

December 15 & 22: Colourful Walkway – Take part in the project exploring road safety and design colourful graphic art.

Children aged 5-11 from Southampton City can enter their designs into the competition; winning designs will become a patchwork walkway on the road in Guildhall Square.

December 29: Winter Tales – Create shadow puppets and explore winter story-telling traditions with artist Laura Day

January 5: Analogue Animation – Explore hands on methods to make images move. Create your own spinning image, pen roller animations, flick book and zoetropes with animator Ben Parker.

January 12: Material Opposites – Explore the themes of hard/soft, furry/spikey, made/grown, natural/ synthetic, machines/ plants in this hands-on sculpture workshop with artist Abi Gilchrist.

January 19: Indigo Dyeing – Explore the magical process of natural indigo dyeing with expert dyers ‘Dyeworks’. This two hour session will allow you to create your own shibori patterned cloth experimenting with dipping, binding, folding, clamps and templates. Free but booking required.

January 26: Stitching Stories – Stitch words and cloth onto indigo cloth to create a collaborative poem with writer Nazneen Ahmed. She will also perform a reading of The Indigo Mirror in gallery 3 on the same day.

February 2: Photograms – Explore the oldest form of camera-less photography with photographers ‘In Focus’ to create your own photograms that capture images using shadows and light.