54th Children’s October Salon

54^th Children’s October Salon - Protect Nature so that Nature Can Protect Us

Opening ceremony: Saturday, 28 September, 2019, at 01:00 PM, MAA

Diploma and Prize Award Ceremony
Music Programme: RTS Children’s Choir “Kolibri” performs the number Planet

Catalogue and Exhibition Authors: Milica Cukić, museum advisor, and Lea Zei, art pedagogue

Organizer: Museum of Applied Art

Protect Nature so that Nature Can Protect Us is the slogan of the 54^th Children’s October Salon organized by the Museum of Applied Art, which is to be held in the course of October 2019.

Development of civilization has resulted in great progress in all areas of human life. However, the emergence of the consumer society spurred merciless and daily pollution of the planet Earth by humans. Our pride has made us forget how dependent we are on nature. A discarded plastic bottle which takes approximately 4,000 years to decompose is a good enough example. We know that any problem can be solved if there is a good will to overcome it. Responsible use of new technologies and implementation of environmental protection laws would result in reduced pollution of the air we breathe, water we drink, and soil that provides us with food. Furthermore, the use of renewable energy sources would decrease emission of harmful gases into air as well as consumption of fossil fuels.

By choosing this topic, we want to stress the endangerment of nature, man’s neglect of nature, and all the dangers that threaten the life on Earth. That is why we recommend children to focus on things not created by human hands: stars, mountains, brooks and forests, to start feeling love for them and to take care of them. The beauty of nature is immense and we should start learning how to preserve it as early as in kindergarten. By protecting nature, we will ensure our own future and future of the generations to come.

The total of 100 institutions with 920 works have responded to this year’s competition announced by the Museum of Applied Art on the occasion of the 54^th Children’s October Salon. The Selection Jury composed of Dragana Poleti, art historian, and Lea Zei, art pedagogue, has selected 350 works to be exhibited. Majority of the works received as a response to the competition were created using traditional painting techniques, such as tempera, pastel, collage or mixed techniques on paper. The following drawing and graphic techniques have also been found: pencil, lithography, linocut, and cardboard printing. Three-dimensional works made of recycled material – bottles and caps particularly stand out. Some pedagogues traditionally opt for rarely used techniques, such as assemblage or paper mache.

As for the topic choice, what is dominant are vivid underwater world of fishes and colourful world of birds. The motives often include the earthly globe being transposed into rubbish or even an atomic bomb. A series of masks on the topic of Chernobyl causes apprehension and even fear, whereas another series of masks made of natural materials (caraway, poppy seed, lentil, corn, hay, wood) arouses hope and optimism. Exhibition visitors will see jellyfish, a dress and a hat formed of plastic bags, as well as an unusual coat rack, a little lamp, a floral table and… many more.

Workshop Programme

The 54^th Children’s October Salon will also include a rich workshop programme realized by the Museum art pedagogue, Lea Zei, as well as the invited experts Nevena Popović, Katarina Bulajić Pavlović, Mirjana Dimitrijević, Lidija Seničar. The workshops have been designed with desire to enable development of children’s awareness regarding basic environmental terms, issues involving waste disposal, and processes demonstrating the manner in which waste can be recycled through creative play and fine art. During the workshops, children will be able to completely alter appearance and intended purpose of objects through appropriate use of the unused material – rubbish, with the aid of art intervention. Sculptures, paintings, reliefs and bas-reliefs, models, and masks will be created through design of the materials surrounding us (cardboard, PET containers, plastic bags, paper mass, wire, electronic waste, etc.).

Between 1,000 and 2,000 children visit Children’s October Salon every year. A couple of hundreds of them take part in the workshop programmes. Thus, the Museum accomplishes its initial goal, which from the very establishment of the event involved developing children’s creativity in the field of fine and applied arts as well as creating future museum visitors.