YOUNG ARTISTS TO FEATURE ON NATIONAL CALENDAR
THE artwork of two young East London artists will feature in Santam’s centenary 2018 calendar.
Seth Kruger, 5, is a Grade R pupil at Cambridge Primary School and Suzanne Strauss, 9, who attends Stirling Primary made their schools and community proud with their achievement.
Kruger only started art this year as part of the school curriculum. Strauss, who is in Grade 4, has been doing art since the age of three.
The Child Art project is one of South Africa’s oldest social investments projects and was started in 1963 to develop the notion that art is a valuable aspect of human development. Although the project is aimed at promoting a love of art among youth, it also provides them with an opportunity to express thoughts and ideas creatively.
The project has developed into a nationally recognised initiative that now incorporates a national art competition, an online exhibition of selected artworks, an art calendar, as well as informal art centres at schools around the country.
Twelve winning artworks were selected this year to appear in the 2018 centenary calendar. This year, Santam received 4 219 entries from around the country. The theme was “Bursting with colour”. An additional 307 artworks have been selected to be featured in an online exhibition which will go live in the first quarter of 2018.
Kruger’s picture is titled: “Taking my dog for a walk”. His teacher, Sharlene Raw explains that his class was encouraged to draw a picture of themselves walking their dogs following a theme about pets in class. “They learned about dogs, how to care for them and take them for walks, and were very excited about the creative project.
“Seth has come so far this year with this ability to express himself through art. At the beginning of the year he was hesitant to put pen/paint and brush to paper and now he draws/paints freely and with confidence. We are very proud of him and his achievement,” she said.
Strauss’s picture is titled: “A day at the circus”. Her teacher, Yolanda Birch explains that a recent visit to the circus inspired Strauss’s artwork.
Strauss does art because she can express her feelings and she loves being colourful. “Art is awesome and I love doing it,” she said.