In connection to the CFHILL events, Mentor is collaborating with Moderna Museet to bring youth in to the fold and make them our true beneficiaries of art. Vera Mendum Purdy, our Mentor intern, attended a pre-launch of the workshops and wrote the following review.
One of the highlights of my internship in Stockholm was at Moderna Museet meeting with artist Snežana Vučetić Bohm (Sneska), from former Yugoslavia, and curator / pedagogue, Maria Taube. I was lucky to attend a pre-launch of a new project started by Mentor Sweden for youth interested in art. This included a preview of the activities and pedagogical process that is the backbone of all workshops for youth. While there are individual goals that each student will work towards, together they will learn what the purpose of a museum is, how it can be something for everyone – a place of learning and culture, a place of relaxation and even a place of work.
The course will start with a tour of the exhibitions and brief demonstration of an artist’s process through the works of Picasso,Sigrid Hjertén, Salvador Dali and contemporary artworks including, Sneska’s self portraits. Together the students will talk about how they see art and what their reflections are using vocabulary they will have learned. From there, the real reflection and self-expression will start. Everyone will go to the studio and start working on their own art in whatever form they want, without the barriers of comparison and pressure to produce a certain product. Being free to create and talk about it is one of the main pedagogical pillars Maria uses in all of her classes.
I was invited to come back for the first student workshop and see how the outlines transition into real life actions. Connecting with youth about a very subjective and complex thing such as art is not for the faint hearted. Maria has years of experience working with youth, so has no doubt awakened countless burgeoning artist, art critic, curator, art historian, she is the one.
Hopefully, these youth will feel they are able to connect with not just the art at Moderna Museet but also the work they create. I look forward to seeing the final results.
If you are interested in attending the workshop vernissage at the end of the program, please contact Elise Alpen.
Workshop description
There is an important connection between image and language. Pictures can lead to words for things you would not otherwise talk about. Art arouses a need to nuance and gain access to words that can open doors to conversation. The course can be a gateway to enriching the language you already have. Participants will also gain knowledge about which professions exist and work in a museum.
Participants: 13 – 17 years; Location: Moderna Museet; Instructor: Maria Taube; Five x 2-hour workshops; Dates: Spring 2022.
About the project
Together with Moderna Museet’s youth pedagogues, Mentor Sweden will run a series of youth workshops, similar to the group “peer” mentoring workshops they run as alternative to its individual mentor program. The goal of the workshops is to introduce knowledge of art and art museums (what distinguishes a museum from an art gallery), as well as 19th century and contemporary art concepts. Participants will create self-portraits, try artistic techniques, image analysis and conversations about art. Mentor Sweden will recruit youth from its focus schools.