"Art has the ability to express emotions without words": An Art Gallery Reflection.
Following on from last weekend's photography exhibition, 'The Art of Black and White', we take a closer looks at some of our favourite photographs, and reflect on the power of Art as a medium for communication. Last weekend, Pass The Crayon teamed up with the local art gallery, Berlin Blue Art to present a collection of photographs taken from artists from around the world. The photos were chosen from a selection of pictures sent in from artists across the globe, collated via
"These refugee children can, and will, change the way people see the world around them": M
Meghan Geist flew all the way from America for an internship with PTC. She has been an invaluable help to us over the past three weeks, bringing her academic expertise, an openness to learn, and a wonderfully positive energy to the team. This is a piece she wrote for her University about her experience working with us: Although my time with Pass the Crayon (PTC) was brief, I enjoyed every minute of it. Pass the Crayon is not the first refugee non- profit that I have had the o
Art of Black and White: An exhibition by GuruShots
We are honoured and grateful to be chosen by GuruShots as the beneficiary of the proceeds from their recent exhibition, "The Art of Black and White". On Friday June 22, 2018, The Berlin Blue Wall Art Gallery hosted the GuruShots event, “The Art of Black and White.” GuruShots is an online gallery where everyone is encouraged to submit their photographs or other types of media expressing their artwork. This online photography platform has helped to revolutionize the way we cons
Pass the Crayon’s Response to the treatment of Children Seeking Refuge in the United States.
The US Government's recent policy U-turn over the separation and incarceration of children represents a small victory, however, we still have a long way to go. Recently, an influx of videos, photos, and news stories have surfaced, documenting the policy of family separation taking place on America’s southwestern border. This evidence has provoked a mountain of outrage among concerned American citizens, as well as voices internationally. On Monday, the United Nations’ top huma
PTC Weekly #11: Fantastic Fabric Dinosaurs
This week at PTC, we go collage-crazy with textile artist, Diane Levoie, and look forward to the exciting month ahead! It has been a very exciting week here at Pass the Crayon. While we had just one workshop, we remained busy with new faces, and lots of looking ahead towards an action-filled next couple of weeks. We welcomed a few fresh interns, and got to know our wonderful artist of the week, Diane Levoie. Beyond the work surrounding our Tuesday workshop at Weissensee, we b
On World Refugee Day, let's remember that everybody on this earth has equal rights to a better f
As World Refugee Day rolls round again, and we bear witness to more draconian border policies, divisive media coverage and extreme political views than ever before, let's take time to reflect not upon our differences, but on our similarities. This can sometimes be expressed better in pictures rather than words... So, here are some pieces of art made by children living in refugee shelters in Berlin. We work with these kids every week, making different types of art. Whether it'
AOTW #11: Memories in fabric with Diane Lavoie
In this week's 'Artist of the Week', I talk memories, lost friendships, aliens(!), plants, and much much more, with textile artist and friend of Pass the Crayon, Diane Lavoie. Diane Lavoie has experimented with many different styles over her artistic life, creating a large and eclectic body of work which fluctuates from multi-media installations, to hand-painted silk. Whilst her subject matter and methods have changed with time, Diane has continuously used textiles as her pre
PTC Weekly #10: Colourful Paper Cut-outs in the Style of Matisse.
Welcome to this week's bumper edition of PTC Weekly. It's been a busy (and very colourful!) few weeks for us, filled with paint, mess and pieces of coloured paper... PANKOW Two weeks ago (June 3rd) we implemented our new 'Age Strategy'. We decided to do this because we have a large amount of kids to cater for at the Pankow shelter, and certain art activities are not suitable for younger years, and similarly, some of the older kids often do not wish to participate in activitie
AOTW #10 : Wild Beast, Matisse, paints Arcadian treats that leave us on the edge of our seats!
With a cheerful disregard for perspective, impulsive brushstrokes, bold outlines and flamboyant colour, Henri Matisse, the 'wild beast', and our Artist of the Week, creates paintings that excite the senses. After ditching his legal day job, the young Henri Matisse (1869-1954) made the artistic pilgrimage to Paris, to seek out training at the illustrious Parisian art schools. But, like many of his contemporaries, including last week's Artist of the Week, Claude Monet, Matisse
By turning boats into bags, Mimycri help to redefine the narrative surrounding new arrivals.
Upcycling nonprofit, Mimycri, turn abandoned lifeboats used to carry migrants across the Mediterranean, into stylish bags and accessories. I attended their recent fashion show to find out more... The first bag on the runway was a rucksack made of pink, black, white and green canvas pieces, stitched together in a stylish geometric design. More and more models strode proudly down the catwalk sporting a mixture of satchels, holdalls, bumbags and rucksacks, each one totally uniqu
