大肚凱特參觀美術室
04 - 25 17:28
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已經見肚、預計於今年7月分娩的英國劍橋公爵夫人凱特，周三穿上一套淺藍色及膝裙前往倫敦肖像館內的「美術室」（Art
Room）參觀，肖像館內掛了其丈夫威廉王子的畫像。凱特全程充滿笑容，很關心「美術室」的運作方式和情況。 倫敦肖像館「美術室」是專為5至6歲、情
緒和行為有問題的小孩子而設，透過藝術為他們進行治療，加強他們的自尊心和自信心，又教他們自立。
Duchess of Cambridge at National Portrait Gallery salutes power of art to change children's lives
The Duchess of Cambridge delighted crowds at the National Portrait
Gallery last night in a baby-blue cocktail dress and a very definite
baby bump.
The beaming Duchess waved to the hundreds of people waiting to see
her as she arrived for an event to celebrate the work of the charity The
Art Room.
She told an audience of 250 artists, schoolchildren and
supporters of charity, of which she is patron, that it felt "incredibly
special" to be at the gallery to celebrate the work of the charity.
The
Art Room, which uses art to increase children's self-confidence and
independence, was marking its 11th anniversary and launching a new
fundraising campaign at the event last night, attended by artists
including Marc Quinn and Jenny Savile.
Kate, wearing a 1950s'
style duck-egg blue empire-line Emilia Wickstead cocktail dress and high
dusky blue heels, said: "I am a firm believer in the power of art to
make a difference and The Art Room is doing that on a daily basis.
"We all stand here tonight to celebrate this wonderful work.
"I hope that you will join me in congratulating The Art Room and their supporters on these extraordinary achievements.
"As
patron of The Art Room, I feel immense pride to see the amazing work
that they are doing but I also feel hugely excited to look to a future
with more Art Rooms, where many more challenging and vulnerable children
will be helped."
The Duchess, who wore her hair swept back, is
also patron of the National Portrait Gallery - and a portrait of her is
currently on display at the venue.
Kate, an art history graduate,
said: "I always love coming to the National Portrait Gallery so to be
here tonight for an evening to celebrate The Art Room makes it feel
incredibly special.
"When I have been fortunate enough to join Art Room sessions, I have been overwhelmed by the transformational impact they have.
"Vulnerable children flourish in the safe havens that the Art Room provide."
The
Duchess spoke to children who use the Art Room facilities in London and
Oxford and accompanied some of them on a private tour of a Man Ray
exhibition at the gallery.
Six-months-pregnant Kate, whose bump
was clearly showing in her cocktail dress, asked the children if they
had been to the gallery before and if they went on many visits.
One
girl, from Regent High School, told the royal visitor she had a special
picture on her own bedroom wall - one of the Duchess on her wedding
day.
Kate asked 15-year-old Tierthe if her husband William was included and, when told that he was, replied: "Good!"
The
Duchess met artists who have donated works for a silent auction to
raise money for The Art Room including Jenny Savile, Yinka Shonibare,
Maggi Hambling and Marc Quinn.
She was introduced to Quinn in front of his artwork Self - a head made out of his own blood.
He said it was "fantastic" for Kate to be promoting the importance of art.
"It's
great to see her getting involved in this kind of thing," he said. "Art
is amazing because it can communicate in ways that words can't. It can
have remarkable results."
Savile, herself a patron of The Art
Room, said: "It is so effective to put creativity at the centre of
someone's problems. It can act as a valve, to get people's pain out."
Shonibare said he had a discussion with Kate about "how wonderful art is".
"She
came across to me as someone who genuinely loves art," he said. "It's
really great to have someone who cares about it like that. The Art Room
is such a great project - it's such a good thing."
In his speech,
Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow - himself a patron of The Art Room -
joked to guests that there were lots of reasons to attend the event,
"but one of them is to see the bump".
He later said of the
pregnant Duchess: "She is quite obviously more involved in The Art Room
than just having her name on the notepaper.
"The thing about the Art Room is that they've been going for more than a decade now, and it works."
The
Art Room currently has six centres at schools in Oxfordshire and
London, and two more - in Ealing and Edinburgh - are set to open.
Juli
Beattie, founder director of the charity, which helps children from the
ages of five to 16, told those at the event: "This is a moving evening
for all of us. I think we have done a lot of hard work.
"To see so many people here, in the Duchess's presence, is overwhelming."
She said the children enjoyed being shown around by National Portrait Gallery director Sandy Nairne.
He said of the Duchess: "She knows why art matters and why it has to be supported."
The Art Room launched a new fundraising campaign, Pledge For The Future, at the National Portrait Gallery event.
*****
Kate Douglas Wiggin was a pioneer of America's kindergarten movement, yet she stopped teaching after only a few years. Why? Kate Douglas Wiggin had a deep love for young children, was in the forefront of the
kindergarten movement, headed the West Coast's first free kindergarten, and started a teacher-training program in California. But, when she was 25 years old, she got married and, as was customary in those days, she had to quit teaching. So Wiggin turned her energies to writing, donating much of the income from her publications and lectures to children's causes. In 1903, Wiggin's most popular novel,
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, was published. Two years later she had another bestseller,
Rose O' the River.
Quote:
"Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility." — Kate D. Wiggin
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