Is stone cold and how warm is wood? Kumu’s education programme for kids
‘How can you make art accessible and understandable for kids?’ was a question we asked Jane Meresmaa-Roos, one of Kumu’s museum educators. Her approach was to ask questions which the kids could not simply answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ thereby stimulating their imagination. Another one was to make the materials used in art more familiar by letting the kids experience them: Is stone cold and how warm is wood? What sound does glass make and how much does a bronze statue weigh? How hard is it to throw a leaf made of paper and how easy is it to mold clay?
Another approach was to speak to the emotions that art works conjure up in us in a language that was non-verbal and more intuitive. Before visiting the exhibition the kids made paper fans. These fans helped them to show what they felt while seeing different installations, videos and sculptures.
But why fans? Jane says ‘because the symbol of the fan erases negative feelings and changes energy into something positive. The time after the war was difficult and sad, but with a new generation’s help we see brighter ideas and find ways to go forward by looking at what history left us.’
- Making paper fans
- Looking at Gormley's 'Home'
- Looking at Shonibare's 'Adam Smith'
The art works that the kids looked at were Vladimir Mitrev’s video Black Red Yellow, Antony Gormley’s installation Home, Yinka Shonibare’s installation The Age of Enlightenment – Adam Smith, The Blue Soup Group’s video Lake and Aurora Reinhard’s installation Flowers.
The main idea was to show the emotional aspects of art and how art affects those who view it. To achieve that, each art work was described with a sentence or a question. Gormley’s Home – an installation of a man lying on the ground with a house on his head – was described as the man loving his house, never wanting to leave but as time passed he grew so big that in the end he could not leave anymore. Shonibare’s headless Adam Smith in front of all the books carried the thought of whether it was possible to lose oneself over books and reading?
The video Lake by the Russian Blue Soup Group had all the children captured with its mysteriousness – a dark room, low sound vibrations and the slowly moving video. Aurora Reinhard’s installation Flowers was explored by asking how it was possible to hug or caress with gloves that had such long fingernails?
- Blue Soup Group 'Lake'
- Aurora Reinhard 'Flowers'
- Vladimir Mitrev 'Black Red Yellow'
Mitrev’s video Black Red Yellow, which is projected onto the floor, made the children laugh: They enjoyed walking along with Mitrev and being part of his piece of art. The sentences used with this video were connected to home, taking steps, moving, leaving but still coming back.
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