Making a difference through art
Proud parents, teachers, learners, friends and supporters of the invaluable work done by Enlighten Education Trust turned out to attend the opening of the Enlighten Visual Arts exhibition on Friday evening, titled ‘Celebration of Colour’.
All the artworks on display were for sale, and the talented young artists provided further entertainment for the guests through music, poetry and dance performances.
Rodney Nissan (Enlighten projects manager) with art facilitators Karin von Maltzahn (left) and Ashley Temple-Camp (right) at the opening of the ‘Celebration of Colour’ art exhibition held at the Enlighten Education Trust centre in Swartdam Road on Friday evening.
The Enlighten Education Trust’s Visual Arts programme is changing the lives of budding young artists who would otherwise have very little access to skills development and few opportunities for self-expression… and they are blooming! Art classes are held in the afternoons for children from a variety of schools throughout Hermanus, including Zwelihle, Mount Pleasant and Hawston. Different mediums and themes are explored with the learners by two experienced and passionate art teachers, Ashleigh Temple-Camp and Karin von Maltzahn.
The children are encouraged to express themselves while learning a variety of art skills. More importantly, Ashleigh and Karin draw on the healing power of art to encourage emotional awareness, intuition, imagination and creativity, and to build self-esteem. The environment at Enlighten encourages both acceptance of the self and the differences of others, and the art class is the ideal space to develop these life skills and empower children to realise their potential. Here they have the opportunity to express their experiences through art in a quiet and safe environment, undisturbed by the outside world, and to create artworks they can feel proud of.
The learners participate annually in the provincial ‘Pictures of the Overberg’ art competition, where they regularly win medals and go on to represent the Overberg at the prestigious Western Cape gala event with all the other gold medal winners from around the Western Cape. This year, two of Enlighten’s pupils, Faith Mafiyo and Iviwe Mrwebi, were among the seven Gold winners in the Senior Phase. A third pupil, Chanelle Manize, won Silver in the Foundation Phase. Iviwe is a Grade 8 learner at Qhayiya Secondary in Zwelihle, and Faith (Gr 7) and Chanelle (Gr 3) are both at Bosko Christian Academy. The highlight of the year was having their winning artworks exhibited at the world-famous Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town last month.
For more information on Enlighten’s Visual Arts programme, contact Ashleigh on 083 208 5608.