Outreach

Primary: 'Roodebloem Estate', top of Birkdale Ave, Woodstock, Cape Town.
Secondary: Bonteheuwal, New Crossroads; Malmesbury , St. Anne's Home.

The Outreach Program is a collaborative program between various art and cultural institutions within Cape Town that aim to provide learners with design and craft skills which will enable them to create marketable products and enable them to teach other learners from their own communities. This falls within the educational, self-employment, tourism and development arena. It is believed that with a partnership approach in these fields of development, long- term sustainability of training can be achieved. Many of the learners have expanded the skills formally with the NQF2 Learnership in Craft and Design with the Cape Craft and Design Institute and MAPPSETA. The learners enter a modular year program of learning in design and craft skills that will enable them to join other craft projects in their own communities, or set up their own small micro businesses. The benefit is one of real commitment versus one-off projects.

The Ruth Prowse Outreach Program aims to accomplish the following: A thorough practical body of knowledge with an applicable theoretical component. The course will enable students not only to share this knowledge with other learners in the community but also to generate an income for the unemployed and thus utilise the course to its full advantage. In addition, creativity and aesthetics are stimulated with valuable life skills. The Outreach Program is a course that has been devised, maintained, promoted and organised solely by the concerned members of staff with financial assistance from the School and donor organizations.

The school has received financial support from the National Lottery and the WCCC. We have associative development projects with St. Anne's and Nolukkanyo. In the past, the Ruth Prowse Outreach Program linked up with the Community Arts Project (C.A.P.), Siyazinceda Producer Forum, Nicro Business Service Centre and Montebello Design Centre, Nolukkanyo Women's Leadership Training Centre.

The primary program runs every Tuesday and the secondary program as required by specific projects.

To provide learners with basic skills to utilise art and craft tools.
To provide learners with colour orientation.
To provide learners with design skills.
To provide learners with necessary life skills.
To provide learners with the ability to add value to acquired skills.
To provide learners with related skills with the object of furthering tertiary education.
To provide learners with a life sustaining career.

The Outreach Department functions within the framework of the full-time academic program, thus enabling a symbiotic relationship with the outcome of an interactive exchange of knowledge, skills and expertise. The acquisition of knowledge and skills and the dissemination of this body of knowledge further into the community cannot be quantified but the practical pieces of work are tangible evidence of excellence and written letters of thanks by learners reveal the success of the program.

Practical:
Design and hand-painting on fabric
Design and appropriately based paper technology
Stencilling and photo-screenprinting on fabric
Paper-making
Mosaic
Wire-work
Batik and Tie-Dyeing

Theoretical:
Time-management
Quality versus quantity
Work ethics
Business practise
Public liaison

The co-ordinators of interested relevant groups approach the Outreach Program co-ordinator to schedule a program. Tuition, transport, subsistence and material costs are covered by the Outreach Program of the School.

The tuition through structured is informal. After a thorough briefing and practical demonstration, students create their own projects. Practical and theoretical knowledge is accumulative and each new project builds on the successful completion of the previous project or facet of the project. In addition to the course presenter the student have access to a lecturer support, which is able to converse in the students home language for additional information clarity.

We are in the process of creating marketable products in a quantity that supports placement at various commercial outlets and students are paid a commission. In addition, students are provided with products to market in their home communities and thus generate a commission based income as well. The Board of Trustees is committed to the program and resources are found to support the program' needs. The Outreach Program fulfils one of the mandated requests of the bequest by the late Ruth Prowse that the venue be an art and creative centre for the wider community in addition to offering a full-time academic program. Thus in addition to a part-time extra curricular program the Outreach is integral to the diversity of creative and skill development at the School.

There is extensive networking and community leaders of various projects are invited to identify prospective students and place advertising on community notice boards. Substantive interaction at the Cape Craft and Design Institute promotes the course and disseminates information. Outreach products feature as part of the exhibits for sale at the Annual Ruth Prowse Student and Staff Exhibition.

Registers of attendance are kept and assessment of work is ongoing during the course. There is ongoing feedback. The outreach program is a practical real life application of the knowledge and skills acquired by the presenter in the Learner ship in Craft Enterprise NQF4 and the Facilitator and Assessors Course at NQF4.

Poverty, winter related ill-health, HIV and AIDS and reliance on public transport negatively impact on class attendance and program completion by all students. We attempt to address the real negative issues by providing transport funds and ensure the provision of teas and lunches. We also (actively through networking) attempt to secure employment for our students and sources of income.