Unframed

Jeannette Moor and Olav van den Brekel (Master of Education in Arts): ‘In 2017, we started searching for parties with whom to initiate our arts educational graduation project. We found the secondary school IJburg College II and art studio het Gouden IJ. IJburg College II offers students the possibility to participate in their art class. In het Gouden IJ, people with a physical impairment can develop themselves artistically.

Together with visual artist Julia Mandle and storyteller Karel Baracs, we developed the concept De kunst der zintuigen (The art of the senses). Life-size prints of the sensory organs of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ came from America to Amsterdam, where moulds were made of them. The participants worked on sculpturing dozens of clay eyes, noses, mouths and ears. The goal was to evoke sensory experiences from the past and to express the feeling with those memories with the clay.

In March 2018, the exhibition De kunst der zintuigen (The art of the senses) was opened, prior to a theatre performance. The artworks of the participants were placed side by side in a similar setting. Different artworks were also displayed via large photos with accompanying texts about the background of the artworks.

Unframed shows what inclusive arts education looks like; how we can shape this form of education which the Netherlands has committed itself to by signing the UN Convention that safeguards the rights of people with an impairment. Every child, regardless of his or her background, is entitled to be participate in this generally applicable education.’

From the jury report of the Graduation Prize: 'Jeanette Moor and Olav van den Brekel tap into the zeitgeist brilliantly. They prove this with Unframed, a warm-hearted plea for inclusive arts education. In their ambitious project, they tackle topical themes in a loving way and they not only manage to achieve a high visual quality, but also to reach a target group that is too often ignored in arts education. Unframed is the type of project that should be developed further nationwide, with Jeanette and Olav as standard-bearers.'

Simone le Noble, artistic supervisor het Gouden IJ art studio: 'Unframed is a unique project in many respects. Through the design of this project, neighbours who would never have met came into contact with each other. Furthermore, the project leaders Jeannette en Olav monitored the goals set very well, with the result being a high quality in the mutual contacts and the ultimate artistic work. (...) The process by which the participants become acquainted with one another, through the very personal stories and collaboration over a longer period of time, even led to long-lasting contact. Through this project, the neighbours truly got to know each other. (...) A lovely project, which yielded beautiful results in many areas!’

Jappe Groenendijk, Programme Director Master of Education in Arts: 'Jeannette and Olav developed an ambitious arts educational project for their graduation, in which they convincingly combined the power of arts education and the importance of inclusive education . (...) Under the guidance of visual artist Julia Mandle and storyteller Karel Baracs, they worked on a theatre performance and on visual material that was displayed during an exhibition. In this way, a layered, multidisciplinary project arose with both social and artistic benefits. It is impressive how they set up the project and executed it on the basis of equality. As a result of this, valuable encounters arose between people who differ from each other – but they found each other in the art.’