The exhibition was attended by teachers and principals from 19 local ECD centres. The event gave children in the ECD phase an opportunity to showcase their creativity, fine motor skills, emotional expression, and problem-solving skills.
The theme for the art was ‘Spring’ and featured a variety of vibrant colours and crafting techniques such as paper-mâché, finger painting, stamping, recycling, and more. The day was filled with excitement, fun, laughter, and inspiration. Octavia Fortuin, a teacher at John Strebel Educare, described the event as a space for children to be creative and to learn through play.
The City of Cape Town provided these ECD centres with resources and workshops that equipped ECD practitioners with the necessary tools to help the children prepare their art pieces. “The purpose of the event was to show them how grateful we are for including us in their ward allocation budget, for providing us with creative arts resources, and to show them that it is not going to turn into dust,” said Elize Hendricks, education representative on the ward committee for Ward 32. The keynote speaker for the event was West Coast College facilitator, Evadne Joule, who reflected on the importance of art as an open-ended form of self-expression and creativity. “Art tells you about a child’s cognitive development. It tells you what is happening in that child’s life. Art tells a story,” said Joule. Councillor for Ward 32, Moosa Raisie, extended a promise of financial support towards the initiative on behalf of the ward. “My aim is to get our children and teachers on levels never experienced before, so I am going to push and support financially from ward allocation, and I will do the best I can to take it to the next level,” said Raisie. According to Hendricks, these colourful art pieces were due to be on display again at the Heritage Market on 4 October, but the event was cancelled due to inclement weather. Instead they exhibited the artwork at their respective ECD Centres.
