From the street to the exhibition

A selection made in close cooperation with the entire family is presented at exhibitions throughout Germany. As usual on the art market, the selected motifs are framed, hand-signed by the artist and offered for sale in a limited edition. In addition, posters and postcards can be used in the AME online shop to buy. All proceeds from the online shop flow into the school education of the children and already 10, - Euro secure a month of school for the children.

Big launch of the new online shop on December 5, 2020

The launch of the new AME online shop will take place on December 5th. In a digital event, various guests will discuss topics such as photography, fair fashion, business ethics and sustainable development aid. There will also be a very special raffle among all participants. You can find all the news about the event at AME's Instagram page.

Jonny - an encounter that changed everything

Nico Klein-Allermann, founder of Art Meets Education, was born and raised in Germany. Due to his mother's Filipino roots, he has a deep connection to this country. Since childhood he has been traveling regularly to the Philippines to visit his family there. As a little boy he played almost every day with his cousin Timothy in an adjacent slum. At a barbecue stall, the two often bought a bite to eat from a boy of the same age named Jonny.

When Nico was thirteen, Jonny was thirteen too. Nico already went to secondary school. Jonny was selling barbecue. Nico was nineteen and had successfully graduated from high school. Jonny was selling barbecue. Today Nico is a freelance photographer, finished his studies, traveled the world and gained a lot of new life experiences. Jonny is still standing on the same street corner today, has several children and sells barbecues. Jonny was denied the privilege of schooling, further training and self-discovery. Realizing that was the moment for Nico when everything changed for him.

Often the financial means for the school uniform and more are missing

In August 2016, the first project in Manila was completed within just two weeks. The foundation stone for Art Meets Education was laid and the first children were given the chance to finance their own education through photography.

Although the public schools are usually financed by the state, the families affected often lack the funds to send the children to school. Above all, there is a lack of funds for school uniforms, school materials, books, travel expenses and lunch. The Art Meets Education project is aimed precisely at such families. It is particularly important that the parents would have supported their child's schooling if they had the necessary resources. Unfortunately, this is still not a matter of course in the Philippines.

Close cooperation with the family is important

Successful completion of high school can only be guaranteed through constant contact between parents, the school and the project. In order to guarantee this intensive care of the children over twelve years, the number of participants per project is limited. In order to check whether the child in question meets the criteria, an in-depth interview is carried out at their home.

The AME project flow

Then there will be a joint meeting with all participants. The families get to know each other and the course of the project is explained in more detail. Then the children learn how to use the camera in the photo workshop. Here the technical understanding is in the foreground, the project team stays completely out of the subject of the young artists.

This is followed by the creative phase in which the children roam the streets with the camera in hand and take photos of their everyday life and surroundings. In the interviews that follow, the children talk about their hobbies, dreams and career aspirations. In the end, each photo is given a face and the associated story. Many of the answers given here are reflected in the later photographs.

The previous successes of AME

In a total of four years, AME has already achieved a lot: Three successfully completed projects in Manila with subsequent sales at exhibitions have given a total of 27 children access to education. They can all now graduate from high school and attend school for 12 years. In the next year, the next workshop project with a larger group of children in Manila should be made possible.

Children are honest and great artists

Art Meets Education's photographs show that children are honest and great artists. Pablo Picasso said: “As a child, everyone is an artist. The difficulty lies in remaining one as an adult. ”Children trust in their own gaze quite naturally. With a camera in hand, they roam the streets and take photos of their surroundings. This naive creativity creates very special works of art that are detached from social works, rules and structures.

Enable school education and at the same time promote creativity

For Art Meets Education, photography is not just a means of financing school education, it becomes a medium through which the children can process and record their feelings and experiences of their everyday life. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, children's creative abilities often take a back seat. Instead, they should help around the house and take responsibility for their siblings.

The photographs give the children space to think and work independently, which in turn strengthens their skills and confidence in themselves. Art Meets Education is convinced that every child has an inner, directional compass that needs to be encouraged. Every year more children should be given the chance to finance their school education through their own creativity.