Zeitz hosts children’s exhibition

An artwork in the exhibition named A Rocking Horse Called Parallax.

An artwork in the exhibition named A Rocking Horse Called Parallax.

Published Dec 21, 2020

Share

Cape Town - Being able to inspire a future audience puts a smile on the faces of members at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA).

Zeitz MOCAA launched its first exhibition for children last weekend.

The publication outlined the production of the exhibition, And So The Stories Ran Away, from its inception to realisation. It also highlighted the process of the museum’s Centre for Art Education’s work with partnering educational institutions, mentor artists, educators and student artists.

Educator at Zeitz MOCAA, Richard Kilpert, said the future of museums is about removing the barriers with their audience.

“The core of this project was to fill the tunnels with interactive artworks, specifically commissioned from student artists with the aim of activating educational opportunities. The exhibition celebrated the power of storytelling and the creativity of our future artists. The challenge for the students and mentor artists was not only to find and interpret a traditional tale, but to bring it to life using only found and recycled materials, install it in the specific spaces in the museum, while above all, being safely interactive for children,” he said.

There were 18 installations and sculptures on display. From a curtain wall of coloured bottle tops, to a dark tent where you can see the stars and the magnificent objects by mentor artists Jill Joubert and Isabelle Grobler.

“Being able to inspire a future audience for museums is paramount, and the pandemic has forced museums to question their role in their communities, so exhibitions that speak to the public like ‘home is where the art is’, currently on show is vital for the new dialogues and future programming of the MOCAA. I was at a school last week doing a workshop with Grade 5’s, many of whom could not write yet.

“In this case, the visual literacy, built in with the confidence to express themselves is their lifeline in education. Beyond that there are many examples in Cape Town of projects which use art as therapy for children at risk, like our partners Lalela, Butterfly Art Project and House of Hope,” he said.

Weekend Argus

Related Topics: