‘Bringing a Photo to Life’

Sharmini Pereira, Curator of the exhibition ‘one hundred thousand small tales’, sets a fun activity using this photograph.

Bring a photo to life Cover

The title of this artwork is ‘St. Peter’s Old Boys’ Reunion’.
It was made in 1991 by the artist Stephen Champion (b. 1959).

This work is a high quality reproduction photograph made from the original taken by the artist. See the full caption

 

 

Download this worksheet as a pdf

 

(1) “Look at the photograph ‘St Peter’s Old Boys Reunion’ by Stephen Champion.”

(2) “These men are dancing, but what are they dancing to?”

(3) “I would choose a track by the late Manu Dibango, called ‘Soul Makossa’ to which we will dance.⁣”

(4) “Search for ‘Soul Makossa – Manu Dibango (Original)’ on YouTube, and spend some time listening to it

(5) “Spend 1-minute dancing to ‘Soul Makossa’.”

From this worksheet I will find out:
–I can look at a photograph, and ask questions about it
–I can make up my own actions using an artwork as my inspiration

Step 1
Look closely at the photograph. Pay attention to all the details. Make a list of the details. Are they big details? Or are they small ones? Can small details still be important? What do you think?

Step 2
Ask questions. What is happening? What are the people in the photograph doing? Be inquisitive and ask all the questions you can think of.

Step 3
Answer these questions. Use your imagination. What do you think is happening in this photograph? There are no wrong answers.

Step 4
Use your answers to bring the photograph to life with your friends. You can tell them the story about the photograph, come up with a game, dance, and act out what you think they are doing. This might help you feel what it was like to be a part of that photograph. And, you might figure out why the artist took it.

Onsite

Curator’s Tour

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‘Upcycling T-shirts’ with Lonali Rodrigo (for ages 16 and above)

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Gallery Talk

‘Artists in Exile’ with Sandev Handy

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‘Art with Family’ with Collective of Contemporary Artists (CoCA) (all ages)

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Visual Journaling with Safiya Sideek (for ages 18 and above)

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Botanical Drawing with Sanath Herath (for ages 16 and above)

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Visual Journaling with Safiya Sideek (for ages 18 and above)

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Sewing and Embroidery with Hema Shironi and Shahdia Jamaldeen (for ages 16 and above)

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‘(Y)our Story’ with Jake Oorloff (15–18 yrs)

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Botanical Drawing with Sanath Herath

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The Power of Diplomacy

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The Power of Humour

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The Power of Community

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Workshop

‘Let’s Build an Eco-brick’ with the Pearl Protectors

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Sewing and Embroidery with Shahdia Jamaldeen and Sabeen Omar

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Sketching with Urban Sketchers Colombo

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Puzzle Day

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Puzzle Day

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Puzzle Day

(all ages)

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Puzzle Day

(all ages)

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For Educators

Workshop

‘Upcycling T-shirts’ with Lonali Rodrigo (for ages 16 and above)

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Gallery Talk

‘Artists in Exile’ with Sandev Handy

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Workshop

‘Art with Family’ with Collective of Contemporary Artists (CoCA) (all ages)

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Workshop

Visual Journaling with Safiya Sideek (for ages 18 and above)

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Upcoming Programmes

March 12

Curator’s Tour

with Sandev Handy

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March 19

Curator’s Tour

with Sharmini Pereira

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March 19

Puzzle Day

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