The week long printmaking workshop saw artists both resident at the studios and those from the community learning new techniques. Across the oceans, TAG managed to catch up with Kristiina as she reflects on her experiences at Greatmore Studios.

“I made Frozen Flowers, an environmental artwork in the courtyard at Greatmore Studios of tiny Finnish flora and big South African plants. I incorporated big photographs and small memorabilia from Finland that were all white. I have previously worked in a lot of outdoor spaces, somehow however, working in the courtyard was a new experience for me- it was confusing at times having to work inside the fences and behind burglar bars…the folk in the community could only see my work through the gaps in the fence and it made me realise that South Africa is still a country of fences and barbed wire-physical and emotional. There is still a long way to go to reach true equality…Some of the artists working at the studios gave me flowers like poppies and roses and some good advice while I as working…some asked me what I was trying to say only working in white. My intensions where to make simple references to snow and winter as it is in Europe…”

During their stay Korpela and Tuomisari managed to collect small artworks from artists working at the studios and in turn exchanged some of their own work-this marked the beginning of a vibrant dialogue between southern and northern art and artists. Towards the end of their visit the two artists invited the Finnish Consulate, Maarit Laitinen to have a brief glance at South African art as it unfolds at Greatmore Studios. Laitinen was impressed by the work ethic of the artists and their commitment to community outreach projects-it is hoped that in the future Greatmore Studios will strengthen its partnership with Finland to see more meaningful projects realised in the community. email: krkorpel@saunalahti.fi

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It is no secret that South Africa has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infections in the world that has undoubtedly lead to some interesting developments that range from economic trends to social changes.

As practising Ugandan artist, during my brief residency in South Africa, I made several visits to various organisations (NGOs/CBOs) that advocate for human health. My aim was to facilitate an art workshop using printmaking skills with people in the local community infected with HIV. At Treatment Action Campaign ( TAC) www.tac.org.za I found a vibrant community of eager participants.

“The emphasis is to tell how painful AIDS is…people should get warned and sensitised… through creative means such as painting and printmaking.”

Despite so many companies country wide that champion the plight of the devastating AIDS epidemic, my concern was always that the public were becoming very quickly de-sensitised to the very real trauma the virus has caused in the country’s social landscape. The public remain oblivious to the experiences of those negotiating a healthy lifestyle in spite of living with the virus.

Ideally the results of the sessions were either to be hung up in patients’ waiting rooms .Due to limited time, my attempts to host an auction of the artists work at a local gallery to generate a small income for the participants, were not realised.

The workshop opened up participants to the possibilities of initiating similar workshops in their respective communities with a greater level of sustainability. The board at TAC have agreed to put one of the selected artworks produced during the workshop on the cover of their 2008 annual report.
A work speaking of imminent death, hope and a life lived positively

I decided I’d like to do my outreach at a centre for the blind and partially sighted in Woodstock. The Cape Town Society for the Blind is a centre that provides blind and partially sighted members of the community with training in various professional skills including basket weaving, furniture making in cane, carpet weaving and computer training. They then work at the centre using these skills and selling their products in the shop.

I approached the society about the idea of doing workshops with them. My interest in this comes from the tactile nature of my work. Together with Virginia and Vincent who work there, we came up with the idea that I would help them build some ‘tactile memories’ of some of their buildings that had recently been demolished. These tactile models would then be displayed at their upcoming 79th anniversary party. The models could be of buildings, objects from within the building or people. The material we used was clay, as well various things like string and buttons to make impressions in the clay.

I wasn’t entirely sure how easy it would be to recruit people at the centre to do it. They all work their and so giving their time means time away from making products to sell. But Vergenia and Vincent did manage to recruit people and we ended up with about twenty in total. Some came everyday, others just once. Their ages ranged from about 30 to 80, from various backgrounds. They included people who worked in the administration of the centre to the receptionist. I was also unsure how easy it would be to get people to share their memories of the buildings. But I found once they started the memories kept coming and they encouraged each other telling stories and remembering characters. Things made included tools and apparatus, characters from the past, objects they made for the shop like baskets or furniture, or parts of the buildings.

I thoroughly enjoyed my outreach project, the participants were very responsive and it think it was beneficial for the community to share memories of the past and do something different from their everyday routine. I found it really interesting having to adjust to the needs of those that are blind or partially sighted and very much enjoyed hearing their stories. I really like to do similar work again in the future.

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Five-day workshop with preschoolers (ages 3- 6 years) at a local crèche in Woodstock

“ The outreach with the kids was another thing that really made me feel that I was trusted in the field .I was entrusted with people s’ children and trusted with the name of Greatmore Studios. It really gave me great joy. The kids were so happy during the process and the only thing that l think should be done in the future with such workshops, is to host an exhibition at the end that would invite people in the community to come in and see the work their children are producing. In that way children will be encouraged to see how important how art is.” Mercy Moyo 2007

Mercy Moyo conducted a five-day workshop with preschoolers (ages 3- 6 years) at a local crèche in Woodstock. At the start of the workshop Moyo introduced the children to various paint colours and encouraged them to explore freely whatever shapes their imaginations allowed. On the second day of the workshop the children were encouraged to make paintings that depicted various landscapes-real or imagined. Some of the children chose to work with simple figurative drawings. Moyo reported that the children painted with confidence while having a lot of fun during the process. Some of the children decided to engage their bodies in their art making, using their hands to mix colours. On the third day of the workshop Moyo encouraged the children to make cards for their families. Using simple glue, the children learnt to make compositions using a collage of glitter, feathers and flowers.

On the fourth day of the workshop, Moyo identified another group of learners to work with (ages 6-7years). During this lesson Moyo instructed the children in developing an interesting palette of colours through mixing various paints together. The new tones produced were then used in the children’s paintings.

On the fifth and final day of the workshop Moyo decided to introduce the children to three-dimensional art making and engaged them in simple but creative face painting. This activity naturally brought a lot of excitement to the children.

Light Snacks were served at the end of each day to refresh the budding artists. Throughout the workshop, Moyo took extensive photographs of the children working on their individual and shred paintings. (These images are captured on the disc accompanying this document)

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The first day I concentrated on teaching the mothers basic embroidery skills. There was an attendance of 15 mothers including some of the nurses who where also very happy to come and join us. After lunch only 10 mothers returned. The next day I went back to the same ward and this time I had an attendance of six mothers who were looking forward to learning new skills. Again following lunch the number of participants decreased sharply. Naturally I became rather discouraged, questioning if I had made the workshop as fun and engaging as I had hoped it was. The next week I went back to the same ward to check on the mothers and I noticed improvement in a few mothers. I was so happy that I had taught somebody something and they were willing to take that skill and better it for themselves.

On the 8th of November 2007, I decided to have a different approach with mothers in another ward. I asked them to make a Memory Poster made out of fabric to express their connection with their unborn children. I received very good feedback from them and everyone was enthusiastic with their creations. The day ended on a good note and I was glad that I changed my approach with my workshop.

My whole aim for the workshop was for each mother to return home with a new skill that she could pass on to another group of women in her local community. It could also be advantageous to these mothers to use these posters as income generating projects- a valuable entry to financial independence. My biggest achievement was when one of the volunteers at the hospital told me that she was going to carry on facilitating the workshop upon my return to Johannesburg. That made me really happy and I promised to keep in touch with them.

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