Small children discover the world with all of their senses – with their hands and feet – modes of perception not usually allowed in museums. To cater for these needs, we are setting up a space in the side-light gallery that allows young children (from 0 to 4 years) to engage with art and encourages creative play.
The centrepiece of this space is the sculpture Civilian Defense Vaduz by American artist Dan Peterman. The artwork installed in the side-light gallery can be touched and walked on (without shoes). It can be used as a hideout or as a gathering place. Various materials inviting children to try them out and play are set out all around.
Early aesthetic, cultural experiences and encounters with education are essential for a child's development. With the aid of the kollabor, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein intends to contribute to aesthetic education in the field of visual arts and thus to implementation of UN children's rights from early childhood.
The name "kollabor" reveals another of the Kunstmuseum's main objectives: to enable and encourage collaborative processes. That means working together with individuals, groups or organisations, learning from one another and engaging in open-ended experiments. The topics and modes of use enabled in the kollabor are developed in a collaborative process of learning and working together with children, their accompanying adults, artists, art educators and teachers.
The following have taken part in the project so far: children from the Villa Wirbelwind day nursery with their carers and the art education team (Simon Egger, Simone Fiorillo, Beate Frommelt, Elena Hohl, Susanne Kudorfer). We received valuable suggestions from: Marlen Jehle from Eltern Kind Forum, Montessori teacher Monika Nather, the Pikler educators from Storchennest Grabs and SpielRaum Schaan, Karin Kraus from Lapurla, Anna Beck-Wörner from Kunsthalle Ziegelbrücke and writer Anna Ospelt.
The project is sponsored by the Binding Foundation.
Your visit to the kollabor
The space can be used during museum opening hours. Admission to the side-light gallery is free.
A member of the art education team will be on site every Tuesday from 10 to 11.30am and every Thursday from 2 to 3.30pm.
Playgroups and day nurseries are warmly welcomed. To arrange a date, please contact the art education team: kunstvermittlung@kunstmuseum.li or +423 235 03 21.
Dan Peterman, Civilian Defense Vaduz, 2023
Artist Dan Peterman (*1960 in Minneapolis, USA, lives and works in Chicago) features in the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein collection with several works. At the invitation of the Museum, the artist developed the sculpture Civilian Defense Vaduz in collaboration with the art education team.
One thousand cloth bags filled with sand are spread out on the ground and stacked up to make a defensive wall. The result is a walk-in space that creates a gathering place and that calls to mind a nest or sanctuary. Peterman first enacted Civilian Defense in 2007 for the Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates. The work was purchased by the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven.
For the version in Vaduz, Peterman developed a new form for the sculpture. He opted for furniture fabrics from warehouse stock of the Tisca company in Appenzell and had them sewn by staff from the Textrina department of the Heilpädagogisches Zentrum hpz. The Museum's team of technicians filled the bags with around 20 tonnes of sand. The fabric and patterns of the cloth bags resemble items of home decor. At the same time, they are reminiscent of barriers built to protect against attacks or flooding. Between public and private space, the work in the side-light gallery is a place for encounter and retreat that visitors can engage with on their own or as a group.
Listen to the artist talk with Dan Peterman on Civilian Defense Vaduz (3 December 2023) on soundcloud!
