Lovely collaboration for Ukrainian children
The Netherlands | A few weeks ago, we delivered a big donation for art classes for Ukrainian refugee children in Holten. A lovely collaboration that resulted in a small but heartwarming exhibition which had its festive opening on April 12th.
How it started
The children of the Toof, a temporary home for Ukrainian refugees in Holten, receive weekly art lessons arranged by Frederique Zweers. These lessons are taught by Francien in’t Veld , a Dutch artist, and Marina, a Ukrainian girl, and are incredibly important to the children. Not only does it offer them a chance to express themselves and learn more about art, but it also offers a welcome distraction from their hardships.
To teach these classes and to offer the children a chance to experiment with different mediums, you require a lot of materials. So, when Francien attended one of the workshops at our Experience Centre and discovered our foundation, she immediately contacted us. And we are so happy that she did!
The collaboration
Art classes like those at the Toof in Holten match perfectly with our dream to support good creative education for every child so we were more than happy to support these classes with our materials.
With these new materials, they hosted a special lesson about Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko. First, they showed the children a short movie about the artist, in Ukrainian. Then they gave the children a palette with bright colours similar to the works of Prymachenko.
Marina
The classes are taught by Marina Sheveleva, a Ukrainian girl who studied Art back in Ukraine when the war started. Thankfully, she is able to continue her education online and teaches the children in her spare time. Marina is very dedicated to the art classes and the kids adore her!
The exhibition
To celebrate the art of the children and that of Marina, Francien and a couple of others arranged an exhibition. The opening was on April 12th, which just also happened to be Marina’s birthday.
The work of the children was displayed on the windows of pancake restaurant “De Pannenkoekenbakker” in the centre of Holten. Four works of Marina got their own spotlight a little further into the city centre.
The day ended with a delicious pancake dinner at the restaurant where each child also received a small backpack with some art materials for them to take home. All in all it was a beautiful day!
Supported projects
Spain | Art isn't just beautiful; it's also incredibly important for expressing oneself, especially for kids. That's why we were thrilled when our colleagues from Royal Talens Spain introduced us to Associació Sociocultural Ateneu l'Empelt. With our support and that of Royal Talens Spain, they organized a wonderful collaborative mural event.
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The Netherlands | Since 2022, the TOOF (Temporary Shelter for Ukrainians on Forthaarsweg) has been hosting weekly painting classes, sparking creativity and connection among its young participants. We are happy to support them with our Royal Talens materials. In the heart of Holten, the TOOF is a place where children from Ukraine come together to explore their artistic talents, and more!
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On March 3rd, our CFO and board member Michel Wessel ran the Tokyo marathon to raise money for a Royal Talens Foundation project. Together with Femke Schrijvers, Anton van Empel and Anne Rixt Epema they raised over 14.000 euros! Amazing work! Additionally, Robert Lodiers will run the Rotterdam marathon on April 14th to raise money for the same project as well. Good luck, Robert!
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Spain | Together with artist and Royal Talens Spain colleague Pilar Barrios Varela, fifteen migrant women and girls created four beautiful ‘Vertical Gardens’. During the process they found strength, confidence and support with each other. This is how they did it.
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