Imaginary Leaps Australia
Expanding child-led theatre play and practitioner training across Western Australia in collaboration with leading cultural institutions and festivals.
Cross-Continental Creative Exchange
Researched and developed over more than six years by Rachel Riggs EYP, Imaginary Leaps has become a specialist international contribution to modern early childhood learning frameworks.
In Australia, the programme has embedded child-led puppetry, object theatre, and sensory environments into major civic art galleries, regional communities, and state library initiatives.
Key Institutional Partnerships:
- The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA): Hosted Imaginary Leaps sessions as a cornerstone of their early childhood gallery engagement strategy, allowing toddlers to explore artwork through tactile play.
- State Library of Western Australia — Better Beginnings: The renowned early literacy initiative commissioned a bespoke Early Arts Best Practice Guide authored by Rachel Riggs.
- AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Early Minds (Perth): Created a dedicated early childhood marquee hosting a festival residency of daily Imaginary Leaps interactive sessions.
- CANWA & Australia Council for the Arts: Funded specialized professional development adapting the programme for indigenous early years communities across Western Australia.
Indigenous & Community Arts
Funded by Community Arts Network Western Australia (CANWA) and the Australia Council, exploring culturally responsive early years play.
Watch Project Video on Youtube ↗
“This imaginative transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary; this ability of objects and figures to transform fluidly from representing one thing into something completely different, lies at the heart of the work of DNA.”
— Rachel Riggs, Creative Director of Imaginary Leaps