Boorai - The Children's Art Gallery

Sharing Worlds : Through Images and Words
An exhibition...

• Gallery 1: By the children from The University of Melbourne's Early Learning Centre, Melbourne Australia
• Gallery 2: By the children from Sparkle Tots Child Care Centres, Singapore
• Gallery 3 : By the children from Spensley Street Primary School, Melbourne Australia

Educators in Australia and Singapore developed the Sharing Worlds exhibition in response to a shared interest in emergent artistry and literacy. It included 180 children's images and related written stories which provided insights into the thoughts, perceptions and life experiences of children aged 3-7 years, from Singapore and Australia. Three early childhood communities were involved including:

• The University of Melbourne's Early Learning Centre
• Sparkle Tots Child Care Centres, PAP Community Foundation, Singapore
• Spensley Street Primary School, Melbourne

The Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, Mr. Murray McLean, opened the exhibition in a festival style atmosphere in Singapore in September 1999. In his address he noted that the works demonstrated "what children are capable of and what they can learn from others". He also hailed the exhibition as an "outstanding exchange" between "two of the most successful multi-cultural societies in the world."

Cultural Identity

The children involved in this exhibition were asked to create images and write stories which told something about their lives and interests. The subjects the children chose included, portraits of themselves and their families, animals, places, games, foods, holidays, religious and cultural events, and imaginary themes. Aspects of Australian life are told through images including sunny weather, the beach, Australian football and Australian animals. The Singapore children have made note of their own racial identities and included images unique to Singapore cultural identity, including Sentosa island and the Dragon Boat festival.

Techniques, Materials and Teaching Approaches

The exhibition provided an extensive overview of levels of skill attainment in young children and also highlighted the related teaching approaches used to facilitate such learning.

These highly personal images were created on various forms of paper and cardboard using a wide range of good quality art materials including: pencils, felt-tip pens, crayons, chalk, poster paint and watercolour. The children were guided in their selection of materials and techniques depending on their preferred ways of working and the nature of the subject they chose to create. To stimulate the children's thinking various stimuli and resources were made available, including mirrors, photographs and models. Some children were involved in excursions to animal parks and local places of interest.

The teachers used open-ended and thought-provoking questions to stimulate children to 'clarify' and 'extend' their ideas whilst also encouraging the 'layering' of their work through the use of mixed-media. Throughout this art-making process the children were encouraged to explore, observe, invent and reflect on their use of a 'visual language' including the abstract elements of line, shape, texture, colour, tone and form. This emphasis on both the representational subject matter (product) and abstract elements of art (process) culminate in highly personal forms of expression.

Telling Stories

The children's paintings, stories and writing were well developed in terms of manipulative skill and control; there were many examples of clearly articulated narratives and skilfully composed images. Children involved in the project enjoyed the opportunity to narrate and write their stories with the support of adults, a process, which encouraged reflective thinking and creative speculation.

Encounters with language occur across all learning areas particularly through reflective writing and drawing. Together these two 'languages' complement and extend the young child's ability to communicate. The 'Sharing Worlds' exhibition highlighted the natural and vibrant relationship that exists between the child's early attempts at image making and emergent story telling and writing: the wonder of putting thoughts and emotions on paper!

Gallery 1: By the children from The University of Melbourne's Early Learning Centre, Melbourne Australia

Paula 4 yrs It is a person crying but smiling.		Sam 5 yrs I am walking on a cold day on the grass. I am smiling at someone.
Shannon 4 yrs I have blue eyes.		Olivia 5 yrs This is me looking in the mirror by my own.	Benjamin 5 yrs This is me surfing.
Claire 4 yrs This is me in the kitchen.	Kevin 4 yrs Two aeroplanes going to Sydney.	Ben 5 yrs Tony Lockett has kicked 120 goals in the season. He started in 1983 played for St. Kilda for 3 years and played for Sydney for 14 years.
Joshua 5 yrs It is a lovely beach day and I am ready for a swim. My green island.	Nicholas 5 yrs The planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth. We live on Earth. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.	Joshua 4 yrs The dingo has wings so that no animals can hurt it.

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Gallery 2: By the children from Sparkle Tots Child Care Centres, Singapore

Crystal 4 yrs I am swimming.	Chun 4 yrs Some penguins are walking, while others are swimming.	Chermaine 5 yrs The mummy and daddy ostriches wanted to kiss.	Jun 4 yrs This is my mummy. My mummy likes watermelon.
Ying 6 yrs I love Dragon Boat race. I love to draw these pictures because I know about the story.		Lynn 3 yrs A house with many room. We can sleep, play and watch television programmes.	Kenneth 6 yrs This is an Indian festival. The woman is walking on fire.
Kiat 5 yrs One day, my family went to Sentosa. My mummy taught me how to swim. I tried to swim fast.		He 5 yrs I went to the Bird Park with my father. I saw four parrots.	Alex 6 yrs God can protect us and they stay in the temple. The God eats fruits.
Ni 5 yrs I can sleep by myself. I can shower myself. My daddy say me is one good gose.		Ye 3 yrs The turtles are hatching eggs.
Ashmitha 5 yrs My name is Ashmitha. I am five years old. I am an Iindian girl.

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Gallery 3: By the children from Spensley Street Primary School, Melbourne Australia

Blossom 6 yrs This is me standing in front of my house. It's a sunny day. I need to go for a swim.	John 7 yrs Roll, roll, roll. Rolling down the hill is lots of fun for me.	Anna 5 yrs This is me doing my school photo.
Nadia 7 yrs One day I came outside. The sun was shining and everything was colourful.	Jordan 7 yrs Roadland. This is a map of Roadland. It has six million roads. There is a fishing lake with a giant plant but nobody knows what it is.

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