Building an Internal Staircase

Building an Internal Staircase
Workshop with Umico Niwa

Led by artist Umico Niwa, the workshop“Building an Internal Staircase”invites participants to use collected materials to create representations of themselves or their family members. Drawing on therapeutic models such as Internal Family Systems and play therapy, this method offers the opportunity to give form and expression to intangible aspects of the self, values, hopes, and inner conflicts. The exercise is intended as a playful approach to tracing the infinite variations of our selves and the things we embody but do not consciously perceive. At the end of the workshop, participants can contribute their sculptures, which Niwa will use to create an installation in the form of a suspended staircase.   

You might be wondering: What kinds of collected objects should I bring? 

A small acorn that a squirrel has nibbled on, a handful of collected mushrooms, a delicate, slender twig, a porcupine quill, uncooked pasta, salty pistachio shells, an unremarkable banana, a wilted bouquet of flowers, unpopped popcorn, popped popcorn, a strange rose, a super-long carrot, a leaf shaped like a boot, an unripe watermelon, etc. 

Part of L is for the Way You Look at Me II

For people ages 8 and up 
Limited number of participants; Free admission withregistrationby July 9, 2026.
Meeting point: Pavilion, Semra Ertan Garden

In English