Along with the playshops and activities, de Appel will host a series of talks to accompany the exhibition CaccHho CucchhA. This symposium is geared towards an adult public, but children will also be welcome to be present and play in the exhibition space during the symposium.

Play is not a rehearsal for culture, it is its most elemental form. From the Amsterdam playgrounds of Aldo van Eyck to the subversive laughter of Sutton-Smith’s ambiguity, this symposium proposes a radical repositioning of children not as visitors, but as co-constructors of cultural meaning. What happens when institutions allow for mess, mischief, and multiplicity and when the lines between education, play, and politics dissolve into a space of shared becoming? During the symposium we discuss topics with which we have been engaged with during the process of working on the exhibition CaccHho CucchhA, where we ask questions about play in relation to other aspects of artistic work and urgent topics of our times.

Revolution for Kids: How to introduce difficult subjects to children, with: Maria Berrios, Priscila Fernandes and Zeina Maasri
These contributions invite reflection on how exhibitions and programming for children can thoughtfully engage with difficult and challenging societal issues, such as colonialism, displacement, inequality, climate crisis, or historical trauma, without compromising the integrity of children’s experience. How can writers, curators and artists create spaces that introduce empathy, resilience, and critical thinking, while remaining sensitive to age and emotional capacity? What role can storytelling, play, and interactivity have in mediating complex content in ways that empower rather than overwhelm? And how might children's exhibitions and programmes resist oversimplification, offering layered narratives that respect children's intelligence and lived realities? What are the ethical and imaginative responsibilities of cultural workers and institutions in shaping how young audiences encounter the world around them?