Imaginary cities workshop

Creative workshop for children "Imaginary cities" aged 6 to 12 at the Museum of African Art

When designing buildings, architects merge art and science. Once architectural ideas, sketches, and plans materialize into objects, they have the power to transform our environment with their permanence. Renowned Yugoslav architect Branko Žeželj was the creator of a special engineering magic - advancing the pre-stressing construction technique, he managed to develop high-rise technology, on which urban settlements around the world sprouted from the 1950s onwards: in Italy, Austria, Romania, China, Egypt, Ethiopia...

We found the starting point for the creative workshop in selected photographs of cities shown at the exhibition "Prefabrikacija solidarnosti: IMS-Žeželj between Yugoslavia, Cuba, and Angola". In the workshop, children will be tasked with creating a model of their imaginary city using cardboard, small boxes, collage paper, glue, and other materials. We will seek inspiration for creative work primarily in the forms, colors, and ambient compositions of urban landscapes from Angola, Cuba, and former Yugoslavia, but also in children's experiences of their immediate urban environment, or travel experiences.

What does a city created from children's imagination look like? Is it located by the sea, in a forest, on a beach, or is it a continental metropolis with tall skyscrapers? What shapes are the buildings and what colors are the streets? Who will live in the city, and what will it be called? These are just some of the questions we will explore at the creative workshop.