Children between the ages of four and 14 have been rolling up their sleeves and learning to produce large, colourful banners under the direction of two South African artists. Some 25 vibrant wall-hangings created by homeless street children in Pretoria have been the inspiration for the holiday project at Scotland Street Museum, Glasgow.
The Banners of Twilight exhibition features mystical animals, urban houses and transport, and masks and musicians. The artists, Lambert Moraloki and Brigitte Hertell, have organised the Ipopeng (“build yourself”) project among 700, 000 people in the Mamelodi township. Mr Moraloki said: “Some of them have mothers, others don’t. Many come from abused households and seek refuge in children’s shelters because of alcohol abuse or their fathers hitting them.”
Not all South African schools yet have formal art education. “At our workshops here we are applying some of the same techniques we use at home, tie-dyeing and painting and printing,” Mr Moraloki said.
The exhibition continues until the end of August.
