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Presto
Fourteen children from Pukerua Bay
School are celebrating winning the New Zealand section of a fresco – painting competition run by Art
Child, a French children’s charitable organisation.
The frescos are very big – nearly five
metres long and 1.5 metres high – that’s why a large team is needed to paint them. The children at
Pukerua Bay are from most classes of the school. They told Mike their fresco had to reflect their
hopes for the future and show something of New Zealand’s culture. They decided their fresco
would focus on their clean environment. “First, we drew with chalk on to the canvas because it
was easy to rub out,” says Bridie O’Conner. After a few adjustments they went over the chalk
with paint. “We made sure the Whittaker skink was there because it is only found on the mainland
at Pukerua Bay,” say Scarlett Lees. Sarah Teppett was inspired by the recent Keith Haring
exhibition at City Gallery and the group decided to paint similar black dancing figures as a border.
“Like they were celebrating the new-millennium,” she says, “But the figures got a bit wonky,”
says Megan Evans, so we put hands around as a border instead. They were easier.” It also
meant that lots more people from the school played a part producing the painting. It took the team
nearly five weeks to complete the painting, finishing it the day the competition closed. It had to
be rushed to Wellington to arrive on time.
The children have been told their prize
is a trip to Paris this year where they will join other fresco-painting teams from around the world.
Prize
trip to Paris in doubt.
Pukerua Bay School has won the New
Zealand section of an international art competition but the promised prize – a trip for 10 to Paris
– is in doubt.
The Paris-based Art Child 2000
organisation, which initiated the project, is having difficulty raising the funds to fly all the winners
from each of the 120 participating countries to France.
Art teacher Sandy Moeke says the school
is “very, very excited” to make it in an international art competition.
“We only hope the organisers will be
able to deliver on their promise to the children. “There’s no way, obviously, in which we could
afford to send all those children to Paris in June,”
The children were asked to create
frescos depicting their cultures and expectations, hopes and dreams for the 21st century. The Pukerua
Bay project was a co-operative effort involving 14 students, aged 8 to 14.
Ms Moeke says students often work together
across age groups, an example of the school’s “inclusive attitude”.
Their fresco is a multi-coloured riot of
dancing children (click here to view) endangered species
(including Pukerua Bay’s own Whitakers skink and seahorse) and scenes from the bush, the sea and the
marae.
Their wish is that the treasures of the
land and sea will be preserved for the next generation.
Gold and silver handprints made by children of
all ages surround the fresco in a bright Fatu Fe’eu border.
School principal Jackie Clark says the artists
were “overawed” by their win.
“For them, the fun part was just
entering and doing.
“It wasn’t really about trying to win. “They just went to it and created this beautiful artwork.
“And then to win was…well, it was just amazing. " They were stunned.”
The Pukerua Bay fresco and the runner up
fresco by Invercargill’s Newfield School are among 18 art works from around New Zealand being
exhibited at Capital E until November 22.
An international collection, including
the Pukerua Bay masterpiece, will travel to 20 countries.
Sotheby’s in New York will auction off
all first-prize winning frescos and proceeds will help disadvantaged children.
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