Art Collaborations with Alliance Française

The Art department is currently using the time given to flexible learning for a project to support the Maisha Art Festival which will take place in Arusha between the 20th-23rd of October.

Olivia Courriel, director of the Alliance Française, invited us to participate and contribute to the festival which aims to raise awareness about biodiversity and environmental protection. A variety of artists from the region and abroad will be involved and students from Braeburn are playing a part by creating a series of masks made from recycled materials to highlight the detrimental effects of plastic to our environment. There is a possibility of the masks being used during the procession which will take place on Friday, 22nd of October followed by the artworks being displayed within the exhibition space of the Alliance Française.

We have a small but dedicated group of Yr7 students who are working hard to complete the task before the deadline so we look forward to sharing the fruits of their labour with the school community nearer the time of the festival. The forms of decoration are open but I am encouraging them to look at the local culture as well as the broader history of mask design and use throughout the world.

The arts festival wants to inspire the next generation of Tanzanian artists so our students are well placed to contribute to this initiative. Guest artists include the Tinga Tinga arts society which includes almost a hundred painters; Bomba Grafika, street art from Colombia, and Revons L’Envers, a circus and dance group from France and Mayotte.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Article by Mr Philip Parham

Visual Arts