Creative Workshop for Children 'Imaginary Cities' aged 6 to 12 at the Museum of African Art

When designing buildings, architects combine art and science. As architectural ideas, sketches, and plans become materialized objects, their permanence has the power to transform our environment. The famous Yugoslav architect Branko Žeželj was the creator of a special engineering magic - by improving the prestressing construction technique, he managed to develop high-rise technology, which from the 1950s onwards would reshape urban settlements around the world: in Italy, Austria, Romania, China, Egypt, Ethiopia...

The starting point for the creative workshop was found in selected photographs of the showcased cities at the exhibition 'Prefabrication of Solidarity: IMS-Žeželj between Yugoslavia, Cuba, and Angola.' At the workshop, children will have the task of 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 wholes of the urban landscapes of Angola, Cuba, and former Yugoslavia, but also in children's experiences of their immediate urban environment or travel experiences.

What does a city born from a child's imagination look like? Is it located by the sea, a forest, some beach, or is it a continental metropolis of 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 in the creative workshop.