February 2002
Report of the KIDS' GUERNICA contribution from Bleiswijk in the Netherlands
How did KIDS' GUERNICA Netherlands start?
The idea to participate with Kids' Guernica started in Brasil, where I assisted Gayatri Prugger to make a Brasilian contribution. The joy of the children working on this huge canvas and the importance of PEACE inspired me to join KIDS' GUERNICA also in Bleiswijk, my home town: a town of about 12.000 inhabitants in the West part of Holland.
Starting up
Surfing the internet I learned that just now there was an exhibition of Picasso's Guernica in the municipal museum of The Hague (Haags Gemeentemuseum). This would be a great start of the project: showing the children a reproduction of Guernica itself. What could be more inspiring. The exhibition ended on the 17th of February, immediately setting the schedule for the project.
KIDS' GUERNICA committee in the Netherlands
Prinsess Irene van Lippe-Biesterfeld agreed to support this project and join the committee. I asked her to join because Irene means the Goddess of PEACE and when she was born just before the second World War and called the PEACE child, hoping that her birth would spread PEACE. At the time of the project she was abroad and she sent the children this PEACE message to inspire them:
PEACE starts with yourself
Paint something which you like in yourself
Try to think of something nice in another person,
whom you actually do not like
Cock Arkesteijn-Biegelaar, second principal and teacher at the Anne Frankschool also participated in the committee. The Anne Frank is one of the schools in Bleiswijk that participated. She helped to raise funds and run the project practically, with her 30 years of teaching experience.
Sjaak de Wit is an artist & painter as well as graphic techniques teacher and lives in the town of Bleiswijk. With his professional qualities he guided the children in painting, composing the picture and mixing the colours. An inspiration for the children while working on the painting.
Monique Arkesteijn as initiator of the Dutch contribution is a real estate advisor as well as a world traveller. My personal inspiration is that we can never talk, think or create enough of PEACE. For me the project is about being and becoming conscious of PEACE.
Cock, Sjaak, and myself runned the workshop with the children.
The aim of the PEACE painting
My aim was to have a short, quick and intensive project: meaning we would make the painting in four days between 16th and 25th Febraury. Ending the project with an exhibition on the 2nd of March. My other aim was to involve as many persons as possible in the Bleiswijk community. The group of painters was limited to 14 children - aged 8 to 11 years - from 5 different primary schools in the village from 4 different grades. During the exhibition classmates, family and other interested persons would have an opportunity to see the PEACE painting. The sponsoring was received from a large group of people. I rather wanted small amounts of money from different people, preferably goods to involve them and also make them think about PEACE. And by doing so planting peace-seeds in our own hearts and in that of others.
The first day: Getting to know eachother and a visit to the Hague Museum
Inspiration by seeing Picasso himself
In every school there were more children willing to participate then possible, so they had to draw lots. It was really fantastique that so many children want to be involved into the project in their free time and holidays.
Of course we used the first day to make acquaintance: we discussed briefly what the painting of Picasso was telling the people about war and peace and we learned a peace-mantra.
Om shanti shanti
Shaloom sadnam sadhu
Tao eem aum
Spirit swami kami
Amen amien aumen
Sela hum aum
Then we went to the museum. It was very busy, because it was the last weekend of the exhibition "From Picasso to Tapies", but a guide was waiting for us and gave us a tour. The children got paper and black crayon and were invited to draw a detail of the Guernica-painting they were attracted to the most. Afterwards we were invited in the museum's studio and with bright colour-crayons we all draw about peace. In one hour we had a lot of colourful impressions.
These impressions were partly the start for the second day.
The second day: Talking about peace and painting on large paper.
We started with the peace mantra, holding hands. I, Monique, had written down some thoughts about peace on big sheets, also the peace message from our Princess Irene. We talked about it and the children were invited to write down their thoughts about peace and to bring it next time, so that we could discuss it and learn from each other.
Then we started to paint: hearts, playing children, a soccerfield and lots of rainbows: one of the children painted a flat with a Red-Cross aeroplane: with 11 september fresh in her mind she wanted to express that aeroplanes have to help people instead of making terrorist attacks. Another girl assumed that enough money for everybody would bring peace: so a large bag of money was painted.
In the meantime we played soccer outside.
At the end of this day everyone was eager to start on the real canvas.
The third day: The big canvas
Sjaak and Cock and myself prepared the canvas so the real work could start.
But first we chanted the mantra and talked about the childrens' thoughts on paper.
One of the girls (Kim Neeleman ( 10 years) wrote:
What is peace: the explanation
Peace is sharing and playing together
No war and enough money and food
Sun to let grow everything: vegetables and fruits
No wounds by bullets and that kind of things
and certainly no deads but births of children
happy music, houses for everyone who need shelter
Blankets and pillows to sleep well
Animals to breed and to get milk from.
Then Sjaak de Wit explained the children how to get special effects by using the brushes in certain ways and a lot of different colours were mixed. On the big canvas the paintings of the previous day were set out and we discussed the composition. Finally the challenge began.
Fourteen little painters on the canvas was no problem and driven by enthousiasm we did more then expected. Still, after 4 hours we stopped for the day: the finishing touch was for tomorrow.
The last day: The finishing touch
We started again with the mantra and all climbed on a ladder to see the picture from a distance. Then some of the children started with the background and others draw round the figures to mark their contours.
Gradually "our" painting developped: colourful, cheerful, sometimes in detail, sometimes abstract.
But - especially looking from a distance - WAUW !! .
Also the parents who came to pick up their children where enthousiast and amazed what has been accomplished in such a short time. The nicest thing to hear for the organisers was what one of the boys said: "Why don't we do something like this more often?"
The main goal of the project was to let people think more about peace.
Therefore were arranged an exhibition in one of our churches.
The Exhibition
We couldn't have found a better place for the exhibition than the old Episcopal village church. Dated from the 16th century it was a monumental environment. The light was very bright that day and hanging on a choir rafter the painting took everybody's attention entering the church.
The children - recognizable by their "peace T-shirts", sponsored by the village council - were
real guides and explained their work and intentions very clearly.
We made flyers so that everyone, visiting the exhibition, could take home the thoughts about peace. The children also went into the village to hang the flyers in shops and to distribute them among the saturday-shoppers.
In the meantime they thanked some sponsors for their help, especially the owner of the local supermarket, the butcher and the baker for providing them lunches, candy and drinks during the project.
Lots of people visited the exhibition.
The local newspapers had articles several times and according to the number of remarks and thanks we got till several weeks afterwards we really could speak of a successful project.
KIDS' GUERNICA IN THE NETHERLANDS
The Dutch contribution to the Kids' Guernica project was made in:
Place: Bleiswijk, The Netherlands
Period: 16th of February till 24th of February 2002 :
exhibition 2nd of March
Local Organizer: Monique Arkesteijn
Vermeerstraat 7
2665 XH Bleiswijk
The Netherlands
Tel: 00 31 10 52 13482
e-mail: moarki@yahoo.com
Committee Members:
Princess Irene van Lippe-Biesterfeld
Sjaak de Wit: painter and illustrator
Cock Arkesteijn: teacher
Participating Children:
Tanja van de Knaap (11)
Nadia Weerdenburg (11)
Joy Troost (9)
Hannah Hoolstelle (8)
Linsey Noorman (9)
Bjorn Bolleboom (11)
Niels Brandhorst (10)
Leon Stougie (9)
Esmee van Vliet (9)
Cathy van Sinttruyen (11)
Kim Neeleman (10)
Marja van 't Hof (11)
Evelien Leytens (11)
Dennis Aleldoorn (11)
Special message:
What is peace: the explanation
Peace is sharing and playing together
No war and enough money and food
Sun to let grow everything: vegetables and fruits
No wounds by bullets and that kind of things
and certainly no deads but births of children
happy music, houses for everyone who need shelter
Blankets and pillows to sleep well
Animals to breed and to get milk from.
Written by Kim Neeleman ( 10 )