The children drifted in, climbing the steep steps in groups of twos and threes. The older girls came later, after much of the drawing and painting had begun. They freed the toddlers tied to their backs, leaving them to roam and grabbed paintbrushes.
A box of cardboard held the most appeal, as did another carton that appeared, containing plastic bottle caps, old pill containers and other cast-offs. The more inventive children created collages with the assemblage of materials, most often people-esque. The others were content to draw houses, paint the flag or even just cover small pieces of cardboard in whatever color was handy. One little guy even grabbed a leaf.
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| Driven to paint |
The Atelier Yiriba is a small room with a large veranda located in Dougouba. It's run by a Swiss woman who has spent a good 20 years in Mali, having first come to work on a sound project. Like me, she is a bit eclectic in her art, doing everything from music to weaving to design. She is currently teaching the first ever design courses at the
Conservatoire des Arts in Bamako.
The children's atelier is located in her husband's family compound, atop a narrow stairway above their house there. She is busy with her work and projects around Bamako but tries to find a weekly meeting with the neighborhood children.
While the children explored the materials, we had a chance to talk. We discussed the difficulties of having structured classes and, alternatively, of having an open studio. The range in ages is both a positive aspect and a potential challenge. There are equal complications when choosing between offering a structured program with classes and the intention to teach or simply offering materials and letting kids do their own thing.
Too often, they get stuck at flags, trees, cars and houses. These are the things they are taught to draw in school. They don't have time for imagining, or even studying the art of their culture. Being there with the kids reminded me of the dilemmas I faced in Kinshasa. It pushed me to reflect on how the new centre can be organized to promote these aspects, and to consider the challenges faced with a transient population.
Even at the Atelier Yiriba the same kids don't always come back. There were plenty of new faces today. It is hard to carry a project forward when attendance is sporadic. But there are a core group of kids who've been there since the beginning, when the Atelier was organized around structured classes. It has evolved into a mixture of things now, collaborations with local artists, demonstrations, co-creating and open studio time.
It was a great reminder that small steps still bring us forward. Often, they are the only way forward.
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I had to snap a photo of the glue method-Plan B in effect
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It started with a small group drawing
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Two of the long time artists
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An hour or so into it, things got busy
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The small drawing table was soon overtaken
I started ushering kids to find a space on the floor |
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| Posing with a mask from a previous session |
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| Painting table on the veranda |
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| Collection of works drying on the new benches |
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| A thank you photo for a gift of unexpected funds from Switzerland |
