While it is clear that art gives meaning, however, can art also educate? The Project Art Meets Education intends to do exactly that. Our mission is to foster the creative potential of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. What we do:
Art Meets Education is an organisation, which educates through photography. Here, children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds are given the opportunity to produce their own works of art. The proceeds generated from the sales of their art will provide the financial means for their formal education. In addition, photography will serve as a medium, through which the children can channel their feelings and transfer their daily experiences into something they can hold in their hands. In many developing countries, such as the Philippines, the talents of impoverished children receive little recognition. The children are used to submitting to the demands of obedience from authority figures such as their parents and elders. In contrast to this, the project seeks to create a space where children have the freedom to freely express themselves. We are convinced that each child has an inner compass that guides them – be it emotional, interest driven, or motivated by character. We want to foster their talents and self-confidence by providing them with our trust and allowing the complete freedom to photograph independently. The children are to seek out what moves and interests them. Our role simply entails providing the cameras and film, as well as a brief instruction on how to handle the equipment. The actual photographing is performed independently by the children and free from our influence. Public schools in the Philippines may provide a free education, however, the financial burdens for transport, lunch, books, school materials, and uniforms fall solely on the families. The target group of our project is children between the ages six and eight from families, who wish to send their children to school, yet lack the financial means to. Still to this day, affordable public education in the Philippines is sadly not self-evident. For our project, the parents of the children have the opportunity to place their children on a list, which is then checked to see whether they fulfill the criteria and whether certain families, due to specific circumstances, may possibly receive priority.
