Philia & Kids
Philia & Kids is the gallery's philanthropic arm. The not-for-profit initiative collaborates with international designers to inspire, connect, and engage children worldwide with design — from reflection to conception and creation.
♡ Not-for-profit initiative — All proceeds are reinvested in the project
Design Brut
The inaugural edition Design Brut | Philia & Kids unveiled new furniture designs imagined by children from Breil-sur-Roya primary school in France.
In this founding edition of the Philia & Kids programme, children from the primary school of Breil-sur-Roya — a small village in the French Alps — were invited to conceive and imagine new furniture designs from the ground up. Guided by international designers, the young participants moved through the full arc of the creative process: from initial reflection and conceptual sketching to the physical realisation of their ideas. The resulting works blur the line between collectible design and the untamed imagination of childhood, celebrating what happens when adult craft expertise meets unfiltered creative instinct.
"What does design look like when children are not students of the process, but its true authors?"
Chantiers Partagés
PHILIA organized the Chantiers Partagés (shared workshops) project with the Société du Grand Paris and Le CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
PHILIA donated the bench they co-created to the children's school. It is now shown permanently on site.
The idea behind the project was to invite the designer Frédéric Saulou to work with a regional stone excavated from the new train worksites and create collectible design works in collaboration with local children of Palaiseau.
Petrópolis
GALERIE PHILIA is pleased to present the third edition of Philia & Kids, its philanthropic initiative dedicated to introducing children to the world of design through collaborative creative workshops. Curated by Ygaël Attali, founder and artistic director of PHILIA, the program seeks to foster meaningful encounters between designers and younger generations, exploring how design can become a tool for education, creativity, and environmental awareness.
The resulting pieces will first be presented in an exhibition at the Crystal Palace in Petrópolis from May 12 to May 15, 2026.
For this new chapter, PHILIA partners with Brazilian designer Gisela Simas, working with 4th and 5th grade students from underserved communities and underprivileged neighborhoods in Petrópolis through the Alcobaça parish school, in partnership with the local organization SOS SERRA. Over several months, the children participated in a series of workshops exploring the relationship between nature, material, and form. Using wood collected from fallen trees at the COMDEP green waste center, the students were invited to imagine and draw their own furniture sculptures, inspired by their observations of the surrounding landscape. Visits to Marambaia Farm allowed them to closely observe natural structures and organic forms, which became the starting point for their creative proposals.
Bring Philia & Kids
to your school
We welcome proposals from schools, cultural institutions, and municipalities interested in co-designing a Philia & Kids edition. All projects are tailored to local context, materials, and communities.
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