Children have a great imagination. Till the world around them kills it for good. A collection of artists from around the world have united to help kids recognize the power of imagination. And hoping that pursuing their creative potential becomes a way of life for these children.
It’s called the Monster Project. It was founded by Katie Johnson in 2010 in the USA. An artist herself, she began the project as a means to help children recognize and value their ideas.
Initially, she asked few 2nd-grade students in Texas to imagine monsters and draw them. Now which kid doesn’t like a monster, eh? The kids came back with their version of a monster, which Katie illustrated in her style. She breathed life into the creations of the children and took both the original drawing and her version back to the kids. The children were enthralled to see their imagination sprout hands and legs, in a sense. Then Katie and the kids had a nice chat about the importance of creativity.
Today the Monster Project has grown immensely. It has around 120 artists from all over the world who reimagine monsters drawn by elementary school students. The artists convert the kids’ drawings into 3D printed figurines to sculptures and even hand-crafted skateboard or just plain old illustrations.
The new artworks enable the demonstration of new art techniques within the original creative context. And the kids always get excited to see what their idea has sparked in others.
The students are then given their original monster, the new monster and a letter from the artist. Some artists stake it a step further and reach out to the students encouraging the child’s creativity furthermore.
There is no money transaction involved at any stage. About this decision, Johnson had said in an interview: “This is something that I always want to be a gift–it means so much more that way, to both the artist and the child. Also, I don't ever want any children to be excluded because some parents can pay for the experience, and some can't.”
Each round of the Monster Project between 100-130 students and 100-130 artists.
If you are an artist and want to be part of the project the send an email with your name, portfolio to ApplyMonsterProject@gmail.com
pic courtesy: The Monster Project
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