Strong messages: Finissage of the youth art gallery in Bestwig

With excited curiosity, the children from Years 3 and 4 entered the town hall in Bestwig to celebrate a special finale: the finissage of the "Youth Art Gallery" exhibition was on the programme. On display were the works from the projects "A greeting from the little ones to the grown-ups" and "Silent friends" - two artistic formats. In these works, the children tell from their own perspective what matters to them: that we can be different together and still belong together - and what their world should look like in the future.

Mayor Ralf Péus took the opportunity to attend the finissage in person to thank the children directly for their expressive works. Together with the young artists, he looked at the pictures and short films they had created. He emphasised the value of such projects for society as a whole: "A vibrant society thrives on participation. When young people show their art in public spaces, we automatically engage with their perspectives - and gain new ones in the process. It is best if we not only recognise these perspectives, but also incorporate them into our common life."

The works created in the project had previously been exhibited in the participating primary schools, in the town hall and town hall as well as in the Sparkasse Bestwig bank. Now they were presented together for the last time in the Bürgersaal - accompanied by the children's stories and a lively exchange about their experiences.

As part of the workshops accompanying the project, the children had explored the question of how friendship can arise from differences. "The fact that someone looks or behaves differently is no reason not to have them as a friend - it's the attitude that counts," one young participant summarised to the guests. It was precisely this attitude that could be felt in every work of art: whether as lovingly staged photos of "silent friends" - fantasy figures created by the children - or in the filmic messages from a child's perspective.

Karol Rivera Carmago, project coordinator at Ensible e.V., was proud of the result: "The children didn't just create works of art - they developed attitudes and conveyed them to the outside world. And that is the biggest goal of this project: expression, reflection and encounter - regardless of age."

A special highlight of the finissage was a joint drumming activity in which - in keeping with the spirit of the project - everyone joined in: Children, parents, siblings, teachers, school management and even the mayor. The rhythmic performance was also a living symbol of how shared experience and participation can work across generations. "Culture is a special way of expressing yourself, your opinions and your wishes. That's why youth culture is important and even a real opportunity for our society," says Ralf Péus, "personally, I think it's a shame that culture is only ever associated with the big city. Why is that? We can do it here too!"

The project is part of the "Youth and Arts" initiative and was made possible by the collaboration between the municipality of Bestwig, the Wilhelmine-Lübke-Schule primary school, the Sengenberg primary school, the Andreas-Schule and Ensible e.V. The funding from the Ministry for Children, Youth, Family, Equality, Refugees and Integration of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Sparkasse Mitten im Sauerland savings bank and the municipality of Bestwig emphasises the importance of such initiatives.

For details and some impressions of the project click here.