A few words about us
Out of the Box is a biennial festival for children eight years and under, held at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC).
More than a million people have attended an Out of the Box event throughout its lifetime with over 1,600 performances, 2,500 workshops and 9,500 free events delivered. We are proud to have played a leading role in Australia in developing children’s performing arts programming, commissioning over 100 new works during the festival’s history and connecting arts and education.
Out of the Box includes cultural activity crafted to celebrate and support learning, play, curiosity and discovery for children and their families as they learn and grow together. Out of the Box acknowledges and celebrates the value and importance of the arts in education and life-learning.
Out of the Box takes pride in its history as a national leader in programming for young children, nurturing children's creativity and imagination.
learn more about our history
Our Guiding Principles
Out of the Box creates rich, creative learning opportunities for children under eight. It is guided by these core principles:
Meaningful arts experiences in early childhood aids physical, cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional development. Participating in art and creative activity can have life-long impact, developing intrinsic human qualities, such as creativity, expression, identity, culture and imagination.
Children are valuable, thoughtful and insightful members of society who make meaningful contributions to civic life. They help shape our culture now and for the future..
Children are central to Out of the Box. They generate ideas and give us feedback on our thoughts, assumptions and programs.
Children journey through different stages of development and artistic literacy. Out of the Box is curated to align with the developmental, emotional and creative capacities of children under eight.
Children are whole body learners and find the most value in active participation in creative processes. ‘Doing’ is a central component of Out of the Box programs.
The arts vocabulary of children crosses multiple forms and genres. Out of the Box works with artists from a diversity of disciplines and creates opportunities across a variety of artistic practices.
Our Team
John Kotzas
QPAC, Chief Executive
Brett Howe
Festival Director
Professor Judith McLean
Scholar in Residence