On March 8, I hosted a workshop in the “We are Collage” series as part of the Warsaw Museum of Caricature’s educational programme for elementary and secondary schools. The participants were pupils from one of the elementary schools in Otwock. The collage workshop at the Museum of Caricature aims to show participants the power of collage and how much it can surprisingly say about ourselves and the world around us. In collage, anything is possible: A man with the head of a tiger, a school as a spaceship or people sunbathing on Saturn… To cut out, you do not
need to have artistic skills. Just grab a pair of scissors and… things start to happen!
During the workshop we tried different cutting techniques and learned about the works of selected artists. We worked with new and old newspapers and beautifully illustrated albums. As a warm-up, we started with group exercises (e.g., students add elements one by one, resulting in a joint illustration that tells us something about the group), and then everyone has a chance to dive into their own world. Collage promotes concentration and awakens the imagination. We learn the art of narration using scraps of paper and cut-out elements, which can be surprisingly combined in collage. The result is group and individual works, which are discussed with their creators in class. Collage is a journey. It is a process that surprises the creator himself. Where will it take us?
