South Saigon International School (SSIS) Students and Bali Orphans Collaborate & Create
SOUTH SAIGON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (SSIS) AT BCAC. On Sunday, November 15 a group of fifteen Junior High school students and 2 chaperones from South Saigon International School arrived at BCAC for a 4 days action packed "SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS", art centered program. They arrived on Sunday and returned to Vietnam 5 days later on Friday. The program included an 'eco-cycling' tour from Lake Batur (summit of Mt Batur 1,717 meters) downhill to Ubud. On the way up they visited a coffee plantation. They had breakfast overlooking lake Batur, and while cycling down they visited several temples and stopped to see how rice in Bali is threshed and prepared for market, as well as learning to handle a 10 speed mountain cycle. The tour ended with a delicious lunch at the traditional Balinese home of Made, our main guide.
On day 3 there was a Social Service component which saw 12 children from the 'Loving and Caring for Children Foundation' (YKPA) join the SSIS students for an art activity. The "street kids" teamed up in groups with the international school students and collaborated on producing paintings. The main aim was two-fold: sharing and blending cultures and languages while developing both technical, imaginative and creative art skills. This yielded 7 large works on canvas, which the YKPA children proudly took back to the orphanage. The SSIS group produced 2 finished paintings on canvas - one in a distinctly Balinese abstract style. In the other painting students created their own, highly original mythological creature inspired by examples from Balinese, as well as various other cultures and traditions. All the work was shipped back to SSIS where it will be exhibited. Students learned about the meaning of Balinese ritual offerings from Ibu Putu. They learned how to make these offerings, with several students making as many as three of these intricate offerings to the Gods and spirits.
On the second night the group witnessed the dramatic "Kecak" fire dance ritual at a temple in the center of Ubud. On day 3 students created unique batik T-shirts at the Widya Batik Studio near Ubud and on the final day they visited ARMA: a remarkably beautiful museum that houses one of the best and comprehensive collections of Indonesian art in Bali. The group had ample time for shopping at the exotic Ubud traditional market and an array of fashionable boutique stores along the well-known Monkey Forest Road in the heart of Ubud. Students worked on a journal throughout the program consisting mainly of written notes, sketches and photographs. They will develop this more fully back at SSIS as a record of what thy saw, learned, witnessed and above all - what they themselves created during their stay on 'The Island of the Gods'. The students will also be encouraged to identify information relevant to the subjects they study in school, and to start perceiving the world from a truly holistic and multi-cultural perspective. Please click on images below to view a larger picture.
BCAC, Jl. Raya Andong, Peliatan, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia