Where we dream
How do children contribute to the exhibition dream.lab?
The Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwander collaborated with children from the children’s advisory groups* and the Kunstideenwerkstatt as preparation for her exhibition dream.lab, exploring the themes of dreams and dreaming.
In the exhibition Dreams of Spaces , the artist already conducted four workshops in St. Pölten in September 2023, held in Portuguese with simultaneous German translation. During these workshops, Neuenschwander spoke about her own experiences with dreams and introduced a Brazilian children’s book**, in which a girl reaches the Tree of Dreams and restores sleep and the ability to dream to people who had lost it.
In the workshops, she asked the children whether they had ever smelled or heard something in a dream and whether they dreamt in colors. The focus was on dreams and dreaming as an extension of one’s imagination. Subsequently, in consultation with the artist, many further workshops took place. For example, children brought their own pillowcases, symbolizing the place where they dream, which were then filled with drawings. They carved dreams into scented soaps or blew large soap bubbles into the sky. Many of these activities were later incorporated into the exhibition by the artist.
Participating groups and institutions:
- Landeskindergarten der NÖ Landesregierung
- Landeskindergarten Dr. Rudolf-Kirchschläger Straße
- Landeskindergarten Ratzersdorf
- Landeskindergarten Lilienfeld
- Landeskindergarten Pottenbrunn
- Otto Glöckl Volksschule, Class 3b
** Mari hi – Tree of Dreams. A Yanomami Myth for Children by Hanna Limulja, illustrated by Gustavo Caboco