Under the motto "Be_on the screen and stay creative!" this year, the Department of Art Education of the PdF UP will host a showcase of digital creativity of children and youth. Its aim is to show what forms the creative artistic activity of children and adolescents can take using digital tools - for example, on a regular mobile phone. The show will culminate on 2 June, when the Palacký University Art Centre in Olomouc will host not only an award ceremony but also a rich programme of screenings, workshops and performances. There will be an open studio with activities for children and young people.
"What do the kids still have on their cell phones? Why don't they do something useful instead?" Perhaps all parents or teachers sigh similarly from time to time. No wonder, since according to some research, up to one fifth of schoolchildren "surf" on a mobile phone or computer for four or more hours a day. Is it always a waste of time and a passive intake of information and images, or can mobile phones and computers also be used creatively? The answers will be offered by the Be_on the Screen show, a large virtual version of which opens to the public on 2 June. The web platform will display all the projects and partial works submitted by participants from all over the country and Slovakia.
Self-portrait, Damián Odynak, 10 years old, ZUŠ Karola Pádivého, Trenčín, under the pedagogical guidance of Zuzana Baranovič Janíčková
"A large number of schools and individuals responded to our call. In total, we received more than a hundred applications and almost 500 children and young people submitted their works," explains Petra Šobáňová, a member of the project's implementation team. "We are very surprised by the high level of the submitted works, which show how creative not only the pupils, but also the teachers are. They are the ones who can stimulate the interest of young people in the creative use of digital tools. It's an interesting synergy: pupils can pick up the simpler digital tools very quickly, but the teacher shows them the way to make the most out of them. It cultivates their expression, introducing them to top artistic forms of digital creation. It shows that not every digital image - still or moving - has value. It teaches pupils to be demanding of themselves and not to settle for superficiality and prettiness. In short, they should try to express an idea, their vision of the world, their self-reflection," adds the project's guarantor, explaining that the web-based show will also offer methodological support to teachers who are hesitant to incorporate digital media into their teaching.
Portrait of Eliška, Adéla Brigulová, 12 years old; under the pedagogical guidance of Pavlína Janíková, a set of photographic portraits was created at the ZUŠ Opava; while working concentratedly with the camera, the pupils gradually got acquainted with the role of light throughout the history of art. The resulting photographs, in which not only light and shadow play a role, but also colour, became an inspiration for further work - drawing or painting a self-portrait.
The exhibition, which is intended to be held annually at the Department of Art Education of the Faculty of Education of Palacký University, aims to contribute to the reflection of the shifts in art creation and education that occur due to the influence of digital technologies – whether at the level of the tools and creative processes used or at the level of reception and presentation.
Both individuals (the creators themselves or their representatives) and entire creative collectives, such as school classes or interest groups, could enter their works or creative projects in the show. The submitted works are now being evaluated by an expert jury and the award ceremony will take place on 2 June 2023 at 4 pm at the Art Centre of Palacký University in Olomouc. There is also a full-day programme, which is open to all interested parties – not only the participants of the show.