Don’t be scared off by the ‘tech’ part of the title — focus on ‘nana’ , and then expand your thinking to include granddads, and people of every age and status who can knit, crochet, tat or make lace, spin or weave, make rag rugs, do patchwork, macramé, felt work, etc, etc, maybe even make ships in bottles! Wonderful, traditional crafts and skills that are so much fun, but not as widely known in this push button age as once they were.
The team at the Old School Arts Centre are hoping to run a whole series of workshops teaching these skills to kids – and adult kids who are interested, so we are looking for people who can share these skills for a couple of hours a week over a month. There is funding to pay tutors — and we can find ‘teachers aides’ to provide some support in running a small group of learners.
The idea of nana-tech was introduced to our Arts Council committee by member Wanda Barker, who experienced a similar programme in Wellington, which she says took off like wildfire, with adults as keen as the children to learn traditional skills. The focus there was on cooking, says Wanda, eg learning to make jams and chutneys, scones and pikelets, yes, the things that nana used to make. If the present plan for a craft-based programme is successful, the Old School may be able to expand into culinary arts when the new annex, with commercial grade kitchen, is completed later in the year.
We know there are dozens of people out there, men and women, who are very skilled at making things. We would love to hear from you — if you have never done something like this before, except perhaps in your own family, why not sign up with a friend so you can work as a team. There is really no limit to the numbers of groups or crafts that we can run over a period of time, so let’s get started before the winter, and make good use of those long winter evenings.
To find out more, or to offer your help contact Wanda on 856 9731 (day) or arts administrator Jacqueline Anderson on 825 0023, or Jacqueline@oldschoolartscentre.co.nz
