...And The Children Speak 2024
A Virtual Exhibit Through the Voices of Our Youth
"Kasserian Ingera / How are the children?"
"Kasserian Ingera" is a traditional greeting of the Maasai people of Africa, rather than “hello” or “how are you?” It translates, "How are the children?”
Generally, the reply is "Sepati Ingera," which translates, “The children are well.”
This exchange is meant to convey that the well-being of the upcoming generation is a good measure of the community's well-being. Life is good, and the priorities of protecting the young are in place! This greeting was the inspiration for the 2020 Virtual Exhibit pilot and its return entitled, And The Children Speak 2024.
About the Exhibit
In 2020 in the blink of an eye, our lives and our children’s lives were altered in a myriad of ways with the onset of Covid and amidst the worldwide response to George Floyd’s public murder by a police officer, saturating our daily interactions and our news streams. Out of concern for the impact these sudden life experiences would have on our children and wondering how and if they were expressing themselves, we launched a virtual art exhibit entitled, And The Children Speak, as an opportunity for our school age children up to age 18 to submit their artistic expressions of their feelings.
In consideration of today’s national and international current events saturating our news streams (presidential campaign conflicts, hurricane & wildfire disasters, Israel and Hamas, and Russia and Ukraine wars, etc.), we decided to return and ask, “How are the children?” and let our children tell us via their art.
We believe that art is a voice, a recording of history, and the retelling of a story or experience. It is a scream, it’s a whisper—both entitled to be heard. It is an invitation for discussion.
We are providing children a platform to speak through their art. The art can be a sketch, painting, collage, quilt, sculpture, a performance (e.g., dance, singing, spoken word), written word (e.g., poem, short story), and more. It can be a solo artist submission or a collaborative artist submission. We treasure the transformative power of art and the impact it can have on the lives of children. It can be a creative outlet that aids children in being able to give voice to their inner world. Such a project can build positive mental imagery, foster feelings of calm and relaxation, and thoroughly engage anxious young minds in the creative process.
Caring for mental health is just as important as caring for physical health. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 in 5 youth will experience a mental, emotional, behavioral, or developmental disorder, and the Centers for Disease Control state that only 20% of these children will receive appropriate treatment. By participating in the creation of art, children can form pathways to healing and growth.
Artwork Submissions
Deadline for submissions: DECEMBER 31, 2024
All submissions are to be submitted to: andthechildrenspeak@savannahafricanartmuseum.org with the subject line “And the Children Speak 2024 Submission” no later than December 31, 2024, following the guidelines below. Email with us with any questions pertaining to submissions.
All submissions must include the following:
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The title of the art (if named)
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Artist(s) name(s)
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Artist’s age(s)
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Affiliated Organization (if applicable) e.g., School & Class, Organization, Community Center, Boys or Girl Scouts, etc.
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City, County, State, and/or Country of artist(s)
All submissions should adhere to the following formats and should not include any profanity or name calling or they will not be included for consideration:
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Images must be submitted in a digital format as a jpeg., png., or pdf. in high resolution.
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Written word submissions must be photographed and then transcribed in a digital format as a jpeg., png., or pdf.
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Video submissions must be submitted in MP4 format with a maximum length of 2 minutes.
Additional Resources
Parents
You may have your own way of interacting with your children about exposure to current events. We are not professionals in this area but offer a parent recommended link you may want to also consider. They are broken down into age groups:
Common Sense Media: Explaining the News to Our Kids
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/explaining-the-news-to-our-kids
