One of the outputs of the Waterdrop project in 2022 is teaching material for schools built on the Waterdrop core theme: Nordic classic literature, UN Development goals and environmental issues.
Here we are building, in particular, on one result, the Young Curators initiative, where we work with children aged 8-13 years on curating an exhibition according to their interest and supporting them to present and realize their ideas.
In 2022 co-products were made, the Waterdrop suitcases, built on the Young Curators Initiative output in each organization.
The suitcases had various themes and projects as they are built on each Young Curators group’s interest in each partner country.
H.C. Andersen House, Odense, Denmark
The staff at H.C. Andersen House made two suitcases with a pile of envelopes containing Andersen ‘s fairy tales, stories by Tone Jansson, Astrid Lindgren and Ilon Wikland as well as work methods and tools. They invited two classes from two schools in the municipality to participate in the project by using the ingredients from the suitcases for their work. The suitcases are now these schools’ property, giving them the opportunity for further creative work with the Waterdrop theme.
The result from the children’s work with the suitcases was art that Young Curators had in their exhibition, opening in November 2022.
Ilon‘s Wonderland, Haapsalu, Estonia.
The Young curators at Ilon‘s Wonderland made three suitcases for inspirational purposes and had them on exposure on the Inspiration Day, September 19th, 2022, where they invited school children from two schools in the municipality to come and be inspired by the Waterdrop. The suitcases served two important purposes:
1. to help young curators to think about smart design solutions and to live in the theme.
2. to be an inspiration to the school children who made their artworks for the exhibition
The suitcases turned out to be an excellent preset for the young curators to immerse themselves in the topic. The design of the suitcases was an exercise for them that introduced the way designers think, to later use this knowledge for the exhibition space. Choosing the colors and decorations for the small suitcase was like a miniature room design. Later it was easier for them to choose the wall colors for the exhibition room and decide on the placement of the objects.
On Inspiration Day, the young curators themselves presented their suitcases and their creation process to school children. The children got good ideas and thoughts relevant to the topic, which helped them to approach their works of art more creatively and inventively.
The suitcases were also exhibited at the exhibition opened in November 2022. It gave viewers background information about the project and the opportunity to use the playful contents of the suitcases.
Kópavogur municipality
From the Waterdrop theme and work presented in the Young curator’s art festival in April 2022 four suitcases were developed and designed by two professionals, based entirely on the Waterdrop literature and the Young Curators creative work. The goal of the suitcases was to inspire and connect children with the great joy of letting their imagination run wild. They are about stimulating the senses of children, being fun to touch, look and experience. In them there are always connections to literature allowing everyone to interpret it in their own way.
The suitcases in Kópavogur municipality were introduced to all the nine schools in the municipality allowing teachers to order a suitcase for a project or a theme work. The suitcases have been very popular with children and educators and orders have exceeded expectations (each teacher can have the suitcases for two weeks max).
Moomin Museum
The Young Curators in Tampere started creating their suitcase in April. Four stories were picked to be part of the suitcase (from each Waterdrop author) and workshops were created in connection with the suitcase. The Young Curators inspired schools to go outside and find a plant, tree, rock etc., and imagine as if it was alive, how it would move and talk to each other. This was planned out as a main workshop for schools in connection with the suitcase, the main Waterdrop project in 2022. An art exhibition in November 2022, curated by the Young Curators was the result of the student’s work with the suitcases.
