South Kids Chatspace

Graduation of Pembroke Primary School Students

2008-12-22T11:23:00.003+11:00

South Kids first 3rd year graduating students from Pembroke Primary School. South Kids Coordinator, Nadia, was delighted to present students with a certificate of graduation to all the participating South Kids, students had worked with nine international artists who had originated from countries from Chile, Brazil, South Africa, India, Korea, Indonesia, Mauritius, Maldives,Fiji, New Zealand and of course Australia.
Some of the workshops over the three years included learning skills in the areas of puppetry and mask making, jewellery design, stencil printing,weaving,carving, sculptural construction, performance and curatorship, painting and drawing. South Kids have been very fortunate to have the opportunity of working with such a diverse group of people and to be able to experience the one on one contact with each artist. We here at The South Project wish all graduating students great success for future studies at the secondary level.
Many thanks for your enthusiasm and friendships.

Mask and puppet making with Heri Dono

2008-12-02T17:11:00.010+11:00

The last two weeks of November, South Kids with renowned Indonesian artist, Heri Dono collaborated together at ArtPlay. The South Kids workshopped alongside Heri, he also talks about his paintings and sculptures, and the stories associated with them. Heri creates modern day mythological characters,in particular angels and superheros, who are the messengers and communicators of peoples dreams and aspirations. The children were able to share and learn from Heri's extensive expertise with mask and puppet making including performance work which resulted with their own designing and directorship by the end of the workshop. The masks and puppets were an effective medium for children to express their concerns for world issues which included environmental, social and personal concerns. Issues such as forest and waterway devastation, poverty, weather changes and war were some of the topics they chose to comment on. Schools included students from Pembroke Primary, Abbotsford Primary and Briar Hill Primary. Heri also worked on two public workshops held on the weekend at ArtPlay.

Fernando Palma Rodriguez at Heide Museum of Modern Art

2008-10-08T11:45:00.007+11:00

Heide Museum of Modern Art had great pleasure in welcoming Fernando Palma Rodríguez - the Museum's first international artist-in-residence - for a three-month stay from March to May of this year. Inspired by this residency, he created an installation for the Kerry Gardner & Andrew Myer Project Gallery, Butterflown of love (click here for details) that is displayed at Heide until 26 October 2008. Redolent with personal and historic cultural meaning for Palma Rodríguez, this interactive work brings objects to life with a range of intriguing narratives.

Palma Rodríguez is a Nahua Mexican artist now living and working in the United Kingdom. He came to Heide under the Arts Council England and Stour Valley Arts Fellowship.

Palma Rodríguez’s predominantly sculptural practice demonstrates his keen interest in pre-Columbian art and the mythology of Mexico as well as his experience as an industrial engineer. His concern for the dilemmas currently faced by the environment has prompted works that seek to address both the teachings of bygone cultures and the impact of technology on the natural world. He is a founding member of Calpulli Tecalco ONG AC, Mexico City, an association committed to the preservation of the Nahuatl language and the environment in San Pedro Atocpan, Mexico City.

While at Heide, Fernando also participated in Heide’s Education & Public Programs, where he conducted a school holiday activity, Masked Warriors and featured in Artists in conversation where he spoke about his mixed media sculptures and the inspirations he drew from his time here in Australia. Fernando also participated in The South Project where he conducted workshops for South Kids .

Read the blog Palma Rodríguez wrote about his residency at Heide and visit to Australia.
Click here to read the blog and make a comment .

To listen to a podcast of Rachel Bongiorno interviewing Fernando Palma Rodríguez for SBS World View, Wednesday 30 July 2008, Click here

Heide Museum of Modern Art
7 Templestowe Road
Bulleen Victoria 3105
T 9850 1500
E info@heide.com.au
www.heide.com.au

The [Envelope] Project

2008-08-21T11:33:00.005+10:00

Day 2 of the [Envelope Project] concluded at Coburg Primary School. The grade 5 group continued with their garments during the week and between workshops during their art class. Anthea was delighted to see the end results, the kids really enjoyed working on their own pieces revealing their own unique designs.

The Envelope is a very versatile garment, the children model the variety of ways it can be used. Anthea discusses with the kids the true value energy wise to produce textiles and they appreciated the value of using recycled or discarded clothing. This project has been supported by Craft Victoria, to view the rest of 'A Month about Making' program go to www.craftvic.asn.au

Toy Envelope with Anthea van Kopplen at Coburg Primary School

2008-08-19T16:06:00.005+10:00

Last week South Kids began the first of 2 workshops at Coburg Primary School with Anthea van Kopplen

( Sustainable Design Practitioner) . The [toy envelope] is a spin-off project of The [envelope] Project which Anthea designed and worked on during the Melbourne International Design Festival last month. [toy envelope] is for kids, Anthea engages the kids with discussions about the way society consumes fashion and then they are asked to look at another way to use and reuse the clothes that they wear and throw away. They are shown how to transform their 'thrown aways' into The [envelope]which then can become a bag, a coat or jacket, a dress and a skirt. The second part of the workshop will further transform these made garments into a cubby or shelter. These workshops are part of a Craft Victoria program,'Month About Making' , a festival of public events focusing on the making process from 7 August - 6 September 2008.

Final workshop for Pembroke Primary School at South Kids

2008-06-11T15:53:00.004+10:00

After 2 weeks of workshopping with Walka artists/designers Ricardo and Claudia, the young designers collaborated together with fellow students and the designers to come up with an exciting new collection. Ricardo and Claudia had a great time, and will take home to Chile with them a wealth of experiences . They plan to work with our South Kids school in Chiloe, and will share with them some images of the creative pieces that our Australian South Kids made.

Abbotsford Primary School. Final day of workshop

2008-06-04T15:32:00.006+10:00

Thornbury Primary School develop a collection with the Walka Team

2008-06-03T15:48:00.004+10:00

Images from the final collection of the basketball theme, another team group uses modern technology to express their contemporary collection. The day culminated in a cat walk fashion parade with lots of fun enjoyed by all.

Pembroke Primary School

2008-05-29T15:59:00.006+10:00

Abbotsford Primary School

2008-05-28T15:40:00.005+10:00

Ongoing workshops with Chilean designers from Walka Studio. Thornbury Primary School

2008-05-27T21:32:00.015+10:00

This week began the beginning of a two week series of wor

kshops with South Kids at ArtPlay. Designers from Walka studios, Claudia and Ricardo will be working with three schools, together they will create a collection of jewellery and accessories. The work will be made from recycle materials and collected bits and pieces of interest to

the kids. We will be posting an on going photo collection of the workshops so that each of the schools involved can view each others work in progress. Lots of fun and certainly a different

way to make jewellery pieces.

The young designers will return next week to extend their collection range, the workshops will finish with an exhibition of their works.

Mexican artist visits Thornbury Primary School

2008-05-13T16:20:00.045+10:00

Visiting Mexican artist in residence, Fernando Palma , Heide Museum of Modern Art and South Kids partnered together to workshop with the grades 5/6 at Thornbury Primary School. Great masks were made, the theme for the masks was based on "The Coyote", a native animal in Mexico, many stories and myths surround this mysterious creature.

Fernando tells stories about his life in a small village, and discusses how the land is becoming littered with rubbish as a result of uncaring people

now inhabiting the areas where he grew up. Fernando will exhibit later this year at Heide Gallery,Thornbury Primary School will showcase the masks made at their annual Art exhibition.

Fernando Palma’s residency is an Arts Council England and Stour Valley Arts Fellowship at Heide Museum of Modern Art

The Chilean Giant Necklace

2008-05-13T15:29:00.006+10:00

South Kids visits Coburg Primary School.

Kids from grades one and prep had great fun with two dynamic jewellery, designer-makers from Walka Studios, Chile. The kids at Coburg Primary made a huge necklace together, as part of their international program week. The necklace was worn by the entire class, each link was looped on by each individual child. Claudia Betancourt and Ricardo Pulgar talked to the kids about their country of Chile and showed the kids some of their designs that were inspired by living in Melbourne. The works were part of an exhibition at Craft Victoria in March of 2008. Both artists will be staying in Melbourne until August and will workshop with South Kids at ArtPlay in early June.

Rajasthan Potters at ArtPlay

2008-02-11T16:16:00.002+11:00

In Partnership with ArtPlay, South Kids have been invited to be part of the Rajasthan potters residency from 11 - 25 February. South Kids will be the first to begin working with the pot

ters with workshops on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th February. The potters, Giri Raj Prasad and Manori Lal, will demonstrate traditional Rajasthani pottery techniques and will go on to build a small homemade kiln with which to fire the pots made by the children during the workshops.

The pots will be thrown on traditional wheels and the children will be shown some examples of traditional Indian designs and motifs which the children may like to use.

There will also be an opportunity for the south kids to view a short video set in their New Delhi studio which will demonstrate traditional processing including throwing, loading, firing, and unpacking the kiln.

The Emu has landed!

2007-12-20T15:42:00.000+11:00

Su-su arrived in downtown Soweto, he had an enjoyable flight over and in case he got lost, he was lucky enough to have sat next to a South Project Staff member all the way. If you look closely you will be able to find Su-su in the photograph with the South Kids at Mbuyisa Makhubu (new name for Belle Primary School). He arrived a few days before the workshop to check out the lay of the land. He tells us that the kids were very excited about Sara Thorn arriving and that they were in the process of preparing a special welcoming ceremony. He also brought with him the wonderful collection of drawings and sculptures completed by the South Kids in Australia to present to the school kids of Mbuyisa Makhubu.

The first international South Kids workshop was a great success and loads of fun was enjoyed by all, the numbers of students increased from 25 to 60 as everyone wanted to join in the workshop. Sara really enjoyed herself; all the children loved working with her. Some of the younger children dressed into traditional Zulu costumes to perform some interesting dance moves and singing. It seems that dance and song is a natural part of their everyday life.
There will be more details about what the kids created in the next Blog as we are waiting for Sara to return so that she can fill us in on how they responded to the Australian work and how they utilized the materials at hand.

Work shopping with Sara Thorn.

The staff at The South Project wish all of the South Kids a Happy Christmas and Happy New Year for 2008. We hope that you have a great holiday break and look forward to our South Kids program next year.

Artwork designed by Rebecca Jobson

Su-Su Travels to Johannesburg in October 2007

2007-10-10T12:07:00.000+10:00

Life for Su-Su is always sooooo busy!!

Su-Su has already packed his suitcase and is about to head off to Johannesburg (in South Africa) for the South Project Gathering. As soon as he arrives, he’ll be getting a taxi straight to Belle Primary School in one of Johannesburg’s suburbs, Soweto.

Johannesburg is a big city, and Su-Su has heard that although it’s pretty loud and busy, there lots of colour, music and dance, and people know how to have a good time! Let’s hope Su-Su doesn’t decide to stay – we want him to come home after the Gathering’s over!!

Aside from meeting all the South Kids in South Africa, Su-Su really wants to meet some of the animals we don’t have in Australia. But he better be careful, because it’s no fun being chased (or eaten) by a rhinoceros or a leopard…

Take care Su-Su and see you when you get back. (Don’t forget to send a postcard)

Clifford Charles and Vicky Shukuroglou create a bridge between the South Kids in Melbourne and Johannesburg

South Kids in Melbourne will remember the workshop Clifford Charles took at ArtPlay back in June. Well, the big news is that Clifford is going to be helping with the South Project Gathering in Johannesburg, including some exciting workshops with the kids at Belle Primary School. But the most exciting part, is that for the very first time, artworks by Melbourne’s South Kids will be traveling overseas, to be included in the South Kids workshop in Soweto!

So what artworks are going on this FIFTEEN HOUR LONG flight to South Africa? Well, three weeks ago, Melbourne artist Vicky Shukuroglou led workshops with the kids from Thornbury Primary School, Abbotsford Primary School, and Pembroke Primary School. The kids created small, easily transportable artworks, using a combination of personal objects (like photos, old toys, and even their own hair!) and a whole range of recycled materials (things like textiles, beads, buttons, wire, and polystyrene). Have a look at some examples:

These artworks will be transported to the kids at the Belle Primary School, Soweto. Once there, the kids will have the chance to rework the artworks from Melbourne, perhaps just using them for inspiration or having them on display in their classroom, or maybe by adding them to their own artworks. They’ll definitely be using their own local materials and items they’ve collected to make a large installation, for a local exhibition. How exciting to think that the final work will include something from both groups of South Kids – it’s as though we’ve actually had the chance to all work together!

Workshopping with Clifford Charles

2007-08-16T16:26:00.000+10:00

All the kids thought Clifford was great fun to work with, and he was so full of energy he literally bounced through the room! The theme for his workshops was all about living in cities, and the art that is all around us. Everyone worked together, painting on huge pieces of paper, using paintbrushes and bits of charcoal taped onto long pieces of bamboo.

He also asked all the kids to actually walk on, sit on, or even lie down on their artwork – which sounds a bit weird, but in the end everyone got the idea that sometimes making art means letting go and trying new things. Clifford even said that all the kids were great Abstract Expressionists, so watch out Jackson Pollock!!!

Welcome to our new blogsite!

2007-06-07T15:07:00.000+10:00

Dear South Kids and friends,

We've finally opened a blog site so that you can tell us your stories, your activities at school, and we can let you know the latest about what's happening in at South Kids.

We've got some exciting workshops coming up this month, with Clifford Charles, our resident artist from South Africa and we're in the process of planning some fun workshops. I'll keep you posted!!

Just thought I'd send you some classy shots of the workshops with Joo-Young Lee - aren't they great! That workshop was so much fun and I've definitely packed my t-shirt to wear for next summer (don't forget to iron it before you wash it, if you haven't worn your one yet!).
Su-Su is looking forward to seeing you all at the next workshop and he's already packing his suitcase for a short stay at Abbotsford Primary School. Boy does that bird get around!

OK, better run, but don't forget to WATCH THIS SPACE!