Learners’ artworks come alive on school walls
The school’s corridors now carry a colourful reminder of the imagination and individuality of its learners, following a creative project that brought them together.
Weltevreden Park Primary School learners saw their creativity transformed into a permanent piece of artwork when a colourful mural was unveiled at the school on August 14.
The school was one of four Gauteng primary schools involved in BIC’s Let Your Colour Out initiative, which saw more than 1 690 learners contribute to murals created from their individual artworks.
At Weltevreden Park Primary, learners from grades four to six were each given an A5 card to colour. They were provided with a range of BIC stationery and encouraged to create freely, without being given a picture to copy or specific colours to use.
The individual pieces were collected by BIC and digitally combined to form a much larger mural.
When the mural was revealed, the learners screamed with excitement as they took in the finished artwork. They eagerly moved closer to the mural, searching for their names and trying to spot the pieces they had coloured.
Amy Whittam, BIC Stationery’s marketing manager, said the initiative was about celebrating creativity and self-expression among children.
“We wanted to bring a celebration to the fact that kids are allowed to colour outside the lines and we should be able to celebrate that,” she said.
Amy said there was no right or wrong way for the learners to complete their pieces and ‘they could do whatever they wanted’.
Weltevreden Park Primary deputy principal Leanne Danker said the opportunity was a positive partnership for the school and a chance to brighten up the school environment.
“It’s creativity. Creativity is what it’s all about,” Leanne said.
According to her, the opportunity came about after parent and influencer Sibu Mpanza approached BIC about including the school in the initiative.
Sibu said the opportunity was important because it allowed children to express themselves.
“I think it was really important to have kids be able to express themselves,” he said, adding that Weltevreden Park Primary was a school that was very close to his heart.
The completed mural now provides the school with a permanent display featuring the learners’ individual contributions and their names, turning what began as small pieces of paper into a shared work of art.
