Anna Tardos and Maria Majoros talked at Documenta15 event

Graziela Kunsch’s Public Daycare at Documenta15 in Kassel, Germany came to an end last week. As a closing event, Graziela Kunsch organised a series of workshops and talks in cooperation with Casa do Povo in Brazil around the Pikler® Pedagogical Approach. At Olhar Pikler (The Piklerian Eye), renowned speakers such as Ute Strub, Carmen Orofino and Suzana Macedo Soares talked about various aspects of the Pikler® Pedagogical Approach. Anna Tardos and Mária Majoros From the Pikler House in Budapest spoke on 24 September in a hybrid event with a combined audience of 700+ at Casa do Povo in Sao Paolo, Brazil and the Fridericianum Museum at Documenta15 in Kassel, Germany, and via Zoom.

Anna Tardos talked about the relationship between Emmi Pikler and photographer Marian Reismann: how they first met and what their working method was during decades of cooperation. The talk featured some of the most striking photos Reismann took of children at the Pikler® Institute, which were all dislayed in the Public Daycare at Documenta15. They all reflect on the children's intimate world, their view on the environment around them, the current state of their gross motor development and even their emotions at times. Most of these photos, along with many more, are featured in the photo albums entitled Tekintetek/Glances/Miradas and Regards/Glances/Miradas, available at the Pikler Shop.

The prints of the 30 photos by Marian Reismann, curated by Graziela Kunsch and Tomas Opitz (TOBE Gallery) for Documenta15, will now be donated to Casa do Povo's archives. Casa do Povo is a Jewish community and culture center in Sao Paulo, Brazil Public Daycare will now be established there.

Mária Majoros, former paediatrician at the Pikler Institute and former infants home director herself, spoke about the importance of documentation in the Pikler® Pedagogical Approach. She gave a description of the various different notes caregivers took of the children at the infants home, all of which helped enhance caregivers' observational skills and strengthened their relationship with infants. These, in turn, made it possible for children to experience a safe environment where their needs are recognised and met.

More photos of the event to follow at the Casa Do Povo website.

PIKLER® AT DOCUMENTA FIFTEEN

Brazilian artist and mother Graziela Kunsch created a wonderful, hands-on exhibition about the Pikler® Pedagogical Approach at the Documenta fifteen in Kassel, Germany. Visitors have the chance to read about the cornerstones of this approach, watch movie excerpts, see some of Marian Reismann’s photos taken in the former Budapest infants’ home and also try for themselves the ‘playful objects’ and the playspace offered - all in accordance with the Piklerian ideas of self-initiated play, autonomous gross motor development and respectful care.

Read more about the Public Daycare project at Documenta fifteen by following the link.

Here is a short report by Patricia Lima Zahn, Pikler® Pedagogue living in Germany, on how she and her 1-year-old spent their time at Documenta15, in the spaces created by Graziela.

And if you are in the Kassel area of Germany this summer, do check it out - you can easily spend the whole day there with a small child as the exhibition offers interactive spaces for feeding, diapering and playing, where you will get first-hand experience of the Pikler® Pedagogical Approach. If you do visit the exhibition, we would love to hear about your experiences there in this email address. Thank you.