Drawing Future: CHARCOAL FOR CHILDREN Charity exhibition 2016/17

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What is in a charcoal?

Black, dirty… that is what many people associate charcoal with. In Indonesia, charcoal may be associated with satay, and in Australia, perhaps BBQ! If you had experienced ‘Bali Belly’, you probably would have popped charcoal pills to neutralise your upset tummy.

Then there is the other charcoal that is used for drawing. Indeed, charcoal has been used to make art for thousands of years. It has been said that cave paintings discovered all over the globe have shown how charcoal has been used in art for more than fifteen thousand years. It is believed that the drawings have been drawn with the charcoal created from burnt sticks, and it is likely that it did not take long after man discovered fire that man also discovered the bold and rich markings of the remnants of the fire.Cave painting from the Niaux cave in France is a fine example of this early existence of charcoal drawing.

In ‘CHARCOAL FOR CHILDREN’ (CFC), a program initiated by CushCush Gallery (CCG), the medium is LagiLagi DIY charcoal made using twigs and off-cuts timber, to fuel creativity amongst children, and to bring artists and creative communities together!

The use of DIY charcoal as a medium is a deliberate one, relating to its significance in its history and tradition, as well as how it is closely linked to our natural environment and progress in humanity. The program is part of ‘LagiLagi’, an initiative that aims to encourage creativity amongst children and is free for children 8–16 years old.

CHARCOAL FOR CHILDREN 2016/17 theme is ‘DRAWING FUTURE’. This time, the charcoal is used as a medium for drawing and painting. 6 invited artists, with the help of 30+ volunteers from creative communities, work together with 100+ children from different backgrounds to create collaborative artworks. At the end of 3 sessions, all the collaborative artworks are celebrated through a charity group exhibition, and the proceeds of works sold will fund future CHARCOAL FOR CHILDREN sessions.

Creativity does not need much. A twig from our environment, a community who is passionate about sharing the awareness of environment and goodness of creativity, arts and design, and children who want to have fun!

Through CHARCOAL FOR CHILDREN, CCG and LagiLagi hope that the ordinary charcoal will trigger a ‘wave’ of creativity-loving children (as well as parents!!) by emphasizing the generation and expression of ideas in a non-evaluative framework.