Published November 20, 2020
The School of Arts at the University of Pretoria are participants in the UNICEF “Youth empowerment under health/economic crisis” programme. The contributions they have proposed fall under the outcome area: Social Skills for Resilient Communities.
The intended implementation with UP aims at activities spanning 12 months in areas that can advance training and skills for the youth in humanitarian aspects. The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP) has partnered with the School of Arts to be part of this initiative.
A part of the project is being implemented at Javett-UP. A call for applications were made for three internships for the period of 3 months, under the following departments at the Centre; Curatorial, Education and Events. The successful candidates are Genre Pretorius (Curatorial), Danielle Oosthuizen (Education) and Kimberley Moolman (Events). All interns will also cross over departments for training during the internship in order to gain a wide range of expertise at the centre.
This sub-project is premised on the enhanced wellbeing, humaneness and resilience derived from appreciating beauty and aesthetics. In relation to art, this applies in many senses. It enriches, heals, and strengthens both those who appreciate works of art and those producing them. It provides its benefits at the time of exposure to both practitioner and viewer, and in advance to the practitioner during training, by instilling resilience for coping with adversity and fostering an enhanced understanding of societal, emotional and other life matters.
The project intends to equip young, potential, early-career individuals with strong foundations, training and skills for embarking on this path, specifically in becoming adept and confident in venturing into the art world.
Part of the training for our interns included a curatorial workshop with Ernest Bellingan Scott, hosted by Curatorial mentor, Shenaz Mahomed.
The workshop was a hands-on training on art handling, conservation and restoration of artworks. Interns were introduced to the different types of damage (by various elements, including water, fire, insects, light and the environment) an artwork can endure and how to avoid, identify and repair the damage. They were also provided with art handling tips and the importance of the use of correct equipment and materials for museum artworks.
Bellingan Scott specialises in the restoration and conservation of paper. He holds a BA(Hons) degree in Science and Conservation from the London Institute of Art [UK] and a Diploma in the Chemistry and History of Pigments from the University of Chicago [USA].
