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Children from Warkworth’s Kiribati community are hard at work with coloured pencils producing an illustrated book of stories from their culture.
The children are attending a new art class for youngsters from Kiribati, led by art educator Diane Halstead from Auckland Art Gallery. The first session was held in the old Masonic Hall this month.
“We want to start by getting to know the class and just getting them drawing. First we are looking at creating a tapa clothe out of drawings on paper.”
The aim is to have a book of stories illustrated by the children published in time for Kiribati Independence Day in July 2020.
The project is a collaboration between Auckland Art Gallery and Auckland Libraries and the hope is to have copies of the book available in libraries across the region.
The stories are being collected by Pacific group coordinators, Heidi Downey and Rosanna Bal,l from Women’s Centre Rodney.
One story collected so far is reminiscent of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Three young girls venture into the bush to pick flowers and come across an old woman. The old woman invites them into her house for food and then combs their hair until they fall asleep, all while preparing a fire to cook them up and eat them.
Eventually the girls escape on the back of a bird. The old hag impales herself on a coconut tree while chasing them.
“Although there are variances, it’s a common story that people on the island grow up with – told by mothers to stop their kids from running away into the bush,” Rosanna says.
