Spider Appreciation Day
Dates
Hours
Location
Celebrate your favourite eight-legged friends at Bunjil Place’s Spider Appreciation Day.
Inspired by Bunjil Place Gallery’s latest exhibition, Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise, children, families and the young at heart can enjoy an afternoon filled with spider-themed activities, all in honour of the beloved arachnid.
Featuring workshops, performances, activities, a mini-beasts encounter and spider film, the afternoon promises to be web-tastic school holiday fun. Bring your own snacks, or enjoy spider-themed food and drinks at Bunjil Place Café.
Finishing with a screening of Inspector Sun, Spider Appreciation Day is your opportunity to celebrate spiders with fellow spider-lovers (and perhaps a few recovering arachnophobes).
Suitable for children aged 5 years + and their families. Parent/Guardian supervision required.
Program schedule:
12.00 - 5.00 pm: Exhibition: Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise
12.00 - 2.30 pm: Workshop: Spider Crowns
12.00 - 4.00 pm: Workshop: Spider Dances
12.30 - 4.30 pm: Workshop: Peacock Spider Patch Party
1.00 - 4.00 pm: Workshop: Spider Support Badges
1.00 - 1.45 pm: Workshop: Tarantella
2.30 - 4.00 pm: Show: Insect and Mini Beasts Encounter
4.30 - 6.00 pm: Film screening: Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow
Scroll down for more details on each activity.
PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise presents the artist’s ongoing photographic series featuring the tiny Australian Maratus spider. It includes new works from this series as well as Cardoso’s acclaimed video work On the Origins of Art I-II (2016). Bringing together science, art and nature, this exhibition celebrates the beauty of the natural world and reveals the sophisticated lives of creatures that are not usually witnessed.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise is an exhibition developed and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Time: 12.00 – 5.00 pm | Location: Gallery
Workshop: Spider Crowns
A special pop-up, spider-themed craft activity at Bunjil Place Library. Craft supplies will be set up for you to create your own spider - parental supervision is required for younger children as this is an unstaffed activity.
Time: 12.00 – 2.30 pm | Location: Library
Spider Dances: Movement Workshop for Children
Inspired by the dazzling displays of Australia’s peacock spiders, this playful movement workshop invites children to explore colour, rhythm, and expression through dance. Led by artist Gülşen Özer, participants will use vibrant fans to mimic the spiders’ lively gestures and shimmering patterns - discovering how dance can communicate beauty, curiosity, and courage. Gülşen Özer is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of performance, visual art, community, and health. Her practice explores movement as a language for connection - between people, place, and the natural world.
Time: 12.00 pm, 1.00 pm, 2.00pm, 3.00pm & 4.00pm | Location: Gallery
Duration: 30 minutes | Ages: 5–12 years | sign up on the day at the Gallery
Workshop: Peacock Spider Patch Party
Create a vibrant mixed-media iron on patch inspired by the dazzling peacock spider. By cutting and collaging recycled textiles, you’ll layer colour and texture into a tiny wearable artwork. All ages welcome! This is a family-friendly, tactile exploration of pattern, up-cycling, and playful surface design.
Hosted by Sarah Seahorse, who is a colourful wearable artist, milliner, and costume maker from Naarm/Melbourne. She transforms recycled and found materials into bold, imaginative creations. As a passionate educator, she leads hands-on workshops in upcycling, sewing & mending, and sustainable fashion, inspiring all ages to create with intention, curiosity and care.
Time: 12.30 – 4.30 pm | Location: Foyer
Workshop: Spider Support Badges
Make a pledge to save spiders or share your love of arachnids with a hand-made badge. Each badge features a unique design by Emmy Webbers, a Gunai/Kurnai author and founder of Indigenous art business Wurruck Yambo. Emmy will be on hand during the workshop to share her designs with visitors and help you get started with creating your badge.
Time: 1.00 – 4.00 pm | Location: Foyer
Workshop: Tarantella
Led by four talented dancers from the Melbourne School of Tarantella, this free community dance workshop offers a fun and uplifting experience for all ages and backgrounds. Originating in Southern Italy, the Tarantella is a lively, upbeat dance historically believed to cure the effects of a tarantula bite, releasing strong emotions and restoring balance.
Dancing together in a circle helps us connect, blending individual expression with a sense of shared joy and belonging. This unique experience fosters healing, trust, and unity, making the Tarantella a perfect activity for families to enjoy while celebrating the power of movement to uplift and restore.
Time: 1.00 – 1.45 pm | Location: Foyer
Show: Insect and Mini Beasts Encounter
Children and families will be amazed as they uncover the fascinating world of insects and minibeasts. Meet and learn about spiny-leaf stick insects, huge goliath stick insects, giant burrowing cockroaches, millipedes, giant centipedes, hermit crabs, tarantulas, scorpions, and even a predator (goanna lizard). Awe inspiring and fascinating!
Time: 2.30 – 4.00 pm | Location: Foyer
Film screening: Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow
After being fired from his detective job after a mission gone awry, Inspector Sun boards a seemingly normal plane for a much-needed vacation. When Dr. Spindlethorp receives a threat on his life, Inspector Sun is back on the case. Trapped in a web of lies, Inspector Sun must find his suspect before it’s too late!
Time: 4.00 – 6.00 pm | Location: Plaza
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise is an exhibition developed and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body. This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
Dates
Sunday 11 January 2026
12.00 - 6.00 pm
For general ticketing and box office information (including conditions of sale) see our Ticketing services information page.
For accessibility bookings or other box office inquiries please email [email protected] or phone 03 9709 9700.
