‘PALETTE FESTA 2024’, A Creative Community in Full Bloom 2024-03-21

‘PALETTE FESTA 2024’ A Creative Community in Full Bloom

Diverse Creativity in Full Bloom, Sparking Children’s Imagination  

On February 24th, the Smilegate Campus in Pangyo buzzed with the vibrant energy of children attending ‘PALETTE FESTA 2024.’ ‘PALETTE’ is a creative community supported by Smilegate Foundation, where children and teenagers can engage in creative and artistic activities based on their personal interests. Every year, the PALETTE FESTA is held to showcase participants’ creations and share joyful experiences. Here’s a look at the vibrant scene of PALETTE FESTA 2024, where children’s diverse dreams were in full bloom. 

Ten Local Children’s Centers Share Meaningful Creative Experiences

PALETTE FESTA 2024 brought together 10 teams from local children’s centers across the country, along with youth mentors, teachers, and parents—totaling more than 150 participants. This year’s event featured the ‘PALETTE Experience Showcase,’ where children from centers in Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Daegu, and Jeonju shared their creative workshop experiences, as well as an ‘Interactive Zone’ where attendees could enjoy 32 original works including games, webtoons, and videos. 

In the PALETTE Experience Showcase, participants shared their creative journeys firsthand. It was impressive to see the children confidently present their creations, achieved through trial and error. As they shared stories of immersion in creation, the sense of accomplishment as team leaders, and turning ideas into tangible works, the audience responded with enthusiastic applause. Mentors felt a deep sense of pride as they watched the children excitedly present the outcomes of their ‘creative activities’. Geum Gyu-Min, a mentor from the Daegu Daeseo Children’s Center, shared, “During rehearsal, the kids were so nervous that I was a bit worried. But once the actual presentation started, they all enjoyed it like a real festival—it made me proud as a mentor.”  

Supporting Creative Environments That Offer a Sense of Achievement

This year’s festival saw participation from children in a wide range of local children’s centers. Participants showcased a variety of creative works. The children’s unique imaginations and high-level execution were evident throughout. The projects reflected the children’s interests—featuring fantastical battles between dragons and humans, thrilling zombie escapes, fairy tale-like quests to rescue princesses, interstellar adventures, and bold attempts to become YouTube stars. The themes of the children’s works were equally diverse. Topics ranged from environmental issues such as the release of contaminated water from Fukushima to imaginative fantasy battles between dragons and humans. Attendees explored and enjoyed 32 different games, webtoons, and video creations displayed in the exhibition and experience zones, engaging in lively interaction throughout.

An award ceremony for the PALETTE FESTA 2024 Experience Showcase, based on participant votes, was also held. Every team was given an award. ‘Gippeum Children's Center’ and ‘Munjeong 1-dong Children's Center’ received the ‘Fantastic Teamwork’ award for their outstanding collaboration. ‘Paranbada Children's Center’ and ‘Asia School’ received the ‘Hard Work Pays Off’ award.  ’Daeseo Children's Center’ and ‘Together Youth School Children's Center’ received the ‘Exceeds Expectations in Everything’ award. ‘Jeonju Dongsan Children's Center’ and ‘Dandelion Blooming Children's Center’ received the ‘Top Vibes’ award for their enthusiastic participation and support. 

Kim Ha-Young from Smilegate Foundation stated, “PALETTE provides a creative environment through local care institutions that respects children’s diverse interests and supports their full engagement in creative activities. The wide range of creations presented at the festival reflect the children’s interests and developmental journey throughout the 20-week creative mentoring process, which is what makes them so meaningful.”  

During the event, the children asked questions about each other’s creations and genuinely praised one another. In a warm and supportive atmosphere of mutual encouragement among creators, PALETTE FESTA 2024 concluded with anticipation for the next year.   

Mini Interview from PALETTE FESTA 2024

‘PALETTE’, Opening the Door to Dreams for the Next Generation

Since its launch in 2019, PALETTE, a creative community, has been dedicated to helping children and youth in local communities discover their true selves and grow happily. It especially aims to empower children to discover their interests joyfully, engage in self-directed creative activities, and experience meaningful accomplishments that inspire new dreams. Hope Studio’s PALETTE opens the door to a colorful range of dreams for the protagonists of tomorrow and is planning more activities to engage even more children and youth in the community.