2019 Education Innovation 100｜435 Art Petri Dish: Under the big tree, lead children to pursue clues to art

In a studio as large as five square meters, artists can choose to immerse themselves in their own creation; however, Art Petri Dish believes that the meaning and value of art must be expanded beyond the studio and personal art career, beyond Comfortable settlements and opportunities to meet more people face to face.

"Why does the art Petri Dish work? In fact, I have found that the core is 'truth', reality." In the Wuping studio, Zhang Weilun, director of the art petri dish of 435 Art Petri Dish, sits and lies On the sofa, the real light in his eyes was as pure as a child's.

The art culture dish is located in the artist studio of Banqiao 435 Art and Culture Zone. It was formerly the dormitory complex of the Retirement Association Training Center in Banqiao. The strict military discipline of the past is now filled with free art. In a standardized space, artists work side by side, but are always busy preparing for personal creations and feedback projects.

"When we sit down and chat occasionally, we will think about it, why are we creating here today? Why do we choose art as our job? So we look back on how we received art education when we were young." Zhang Weilundi said It turns out that Taiwan’s art education process is mostly technology-oriented, focusing on finished products and results. Parents always expect their children to bring back beautiful works from art classes, but not the thinking and understanding behind them. However, children's creativity and imagination should not stop at "learning" techniques and forget about the joy of creation.

Various reasons came together to make Zhang Weilun, who has two children, begin to think about what kind of sparks will emerge when art and education come together and artists and children face each other?

The artists in the community are like amoeba in a group of Petri dishes, each of them has different expertise, but the same thing is that they decided to reflect on everything. Take a series of actions.

In the 435 Art and Cultural Zone, art is not limited to the studio. The wooden plank road outside and under the big trees can be spaces for artistic experience. Art Petri Dish / Provided by photographer Ke Shanwen

Upon entering the 435 Art and Cultural Zone, the artist led the children to sit in a big circle instead of lining up in a row, so that the children could understand the following activities. It's more like a large-scale level-breaking game than a class. In addition to coordinating the Art Lab x KIDs activities, Zhang Weilun also served as a team assistant, "We took the children to go through the studios one by one. Each room is a different situation, so when the children enter a studio, it is like a studio. The mystery house was opened." The children jumped behind her, learning about different media and different creative methods.

The various martial arts skills of the artists also aroused the curiosity of the children. When you open the installation art studio, you are surprised to see a bathtub. In the wood carving studio, you can smell the aroma of wood from a distance. During the exploration in the studio, children open up their senses, and this experience can leave a mark on their hearts.

Then, children can freely choose courses and experience the joy of creation in the artist's working field. For artists, such an event also feels like an adventure.

Children and community artists experience different expressions of art and share their moods and stories during creation. Art Petri Dish Art Petri Dish / Photographer provided by Ke Shanwen

Printmaking artist Li Yanzhen takes children to create prints using the chemical reaction of aluminum foil paper and cola, from sketching, engraving to printed products. If you have no experience in printmaking, you will not be able to imagine the complex process and results of printmaking. At first, your children will not be as interested in printmaking as in other courses. But step by step, Li Yanzhen led the children to understand and play, and actually stimulated the children's creative energy to help, cooperate, and stop.

Staying with the child and seeing the child’s concentration suddenly devoted to creation reminded Li Yanzhen of her straightforward and innocent self. Zhang Weilun also shared, "I found that the innocence of children can take us back to a very primitive, very original creative state of mind." Children's brushstrokes that have not been socialized and restricted cannot be imitated by adults. The Petri dish represents not only the power of artists in the community, but also the sparks of collision between artists and children in the same space.

In the final phase of Art Lab x KIDs, artists big and small work together to curate the exhibition. In addition to displaying the works, photos of the activities are also displayed so that everyone can review the game and experience process together. Art Petri Dish/Photographer Ke Shanwen

In addition to continuing Art Lab x KIDs and continuing to play and learn with children, Art Petri Dish will also be launched through the Ministry of Culture in the next school year. The Cultural Experience Content Selection Subsidy Project carries out Art Lab x YOUNGs and exchanges with high school art class students.

In view of the different needs of different audiences, Zhou Weijie, the administrative director of Art Petri Dish, said with a smile that the Art Petri Dish is like conducting an "experiment" on the side. Based on the experience of those who have been there, what they hope to bring to high school students is not to return their creations to the innocence of childhood.

For art class students who are already equipped with various techniques, it would be even more helpful if they could obtain concrete imagination on the road to artistic development through artists. "We can provide them with information about further education, employment in the arts, or sharing of overseas experience. In view of the gap between high school and university, we serve as a bridge in the middle."

Most of the subjects offered in art classes are around As they prepare to further their education, Art Lab x YOUNGs hopes to give art class children the opportunity to be exposed to different creative media besides technical examinations, such as metalworking, wood carving, printmaking, installation art, etc.

In addition to sharing experiences in classes, artists will also conduct courses in the 435 Art and Culture Zone, allowing children to experience first-hand the working fields and models of artists in various fields and understand creative styles. Visual Director Chen Yingzhen hopes that this exchange with high school students will touch their broader imagination for creation. In the future, if children want to engage in different types of creations such as new media and architecture, these courses and activity experiences will become their nourishment.

Not only that, after the completion of Art Lab x YOUNGs, the artists will use the empowerment guidance of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education to transform the project content into curriculum teaching plans and place them in the Ministry of Education's "Art Photography" An online platform for reference by school teachers. Interested teachers can invite lesson plan planners to join the class, or they can make changes to the course modules themselves, so that the artist's project is not only a one-time activity, but also has the opportunity to reach more children in different forms. .

In this way, the team always tries to interact with different objects across fields, while crossing the river by feeling the stones, and actively explores in bold attempts. The artists of the Art Petri Dish team also hope to bring such an open mind to every child they meet. "(Having an open mind) For children, they will not always be under the framework, restricted and constrained. Art may be their way of escape." Perhaps only one out of ten children can successfully bury the stone. Seeds, but to the art petri dish, they are already footprints of fermenting influence.

The members of the Art Petri Dish have heterogeneity with different expertise, hoping to give art projects more room for development. Art Petri Dish Art Petri Dish / Photographer provided by Ke Shanwen

Everyone has different imaginations of beauty. Being open to accept various possibilities will make art more boundless. Zhang Weilun explains art and literary workers this way: Culture is the accumulation of daily life, and art and literary workers are one of the most in-depth observers of culture. "Our original intention is to sincerely share the passion and love for artistic creation as creators with children." Every time they come into contact or challenge with different units, they also gain more nutrients in artistic creation. A more sensitive understanding and insight into life.

"Perhaps, what we do will not make money, but I think people who create can give out and come back to give themselves a lot of energy." It is not as good as the one at the beginning of the interview Relaxed, Zhang Weilun firmly expressed the original intention and mission of the art petri dish.

For artists, everyone looks at them as romantic, otherworldly, and even otherworldly; Art Petri Dish’s continuous cross-domain actions are more like gentle resistance to the status quo.