‘Sesel Lir avek Mwan’ exhibition celebrates reading for specific narratives |23 May 2023

A group photograph of some of the artists whose work feature  in the exhibition

A colourful and vibrant art exhibition under the theme ‘Sesel Lir avek Mwan’, depicting various pieces of drawings and photographs of artists celebrating reading for specific narratives, is taking place at the National History Museum.

The exhibition as part of a promotional reading campaign ‘Sesel Lir avek Mwan’, is being organised by the Seychelles Association of Retired Education Professionals (Sarep) in collaboration with Creative Seychelles Agency.

The campaign ‘Sesel Lir avek Mwan’ is a community-based project to encourage parents, carers and families of children aged between 0 to 5 years to read and engage in story-telling with their babies and toddlers on a regular basis from a very early age.

It is also to improve the home literacy environment and bonding among family members.

The year-long project was officially launched on April 26, 2023 to coincide with Reading Week.

It was the chief executive of State Assurance Corporation (Sacos), Georgette Capricieuse, who had the honour to open the exhibition containing the works of 11 local artists ‒ Christine Chetty Payet, Zoe Chong-Seng, Frances Chang Him, Ryan Chetty, Juliette Zelime, Chloe Thérésine, Doris Nourrice, Beverly Durand, Kaela Eden, Karyn Zialor and Egbert Marday.     

Present were Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts (Snicha) permanent secretary Cecil Kalebi, Sarep chairperson Jeanne Simeon who is a former education minister, the artists, other members of the association and invited guests.

With Sarep realising early on in the project’s planning stage of the reading campaign that it would depend on the production and dissemination of powerful messages and images that would inspire parents and the general public to promote and share the joy of reading, the artists were invited to use their imagination and their artistic skills to illustrate well known quotations on reading by world known writers.

The exhibition featuring a wide range of styles and techniques is expected to appeal to diverse audiences ‒ children and adults alike ‒ and the works will be turned into posters for advertising purposes across the country. The quotations chosen highlight the magic and fantasy hidden in books, of travels and discovery of unknown places, of the soothing and therapeutic effect of books on the mental health of children and adults and most importantly books as an unending source of knowledge. 

In her address, Ms Capricieuse said Sacos, the main sponsor for the poster materials, wanted to be part of the project upon learning about the campaign to help children.

She noted that the company is actively involved in community-based social initiatives and has over the years taken part in numerous projects geared towards the promotion and the development of children.

 “So today, Sacos is happy to start this exciting journey with Sarep. We will follow through and will celebrate the end results with the positive impact they will have across the board,” said Ms Capricieuse, who thanked Sarep for the initiative and the artists who responded to the call to help instill the joy and importance of reading and story-telling across the country.

Taking the podium earlier, Sarep member, Macsuzy Mondon, Seychelles’ former education minister and designated minister, said the association was extremely happy with the response from the artists who have benevolently given their time and talent to support the project and some have presented more than one piece of work.

“A large number of the participants are educators which tells us that our message about reading has struck a special chord in their hearts and that this message needs to be seen and heard more widely through visual expressions,” said Mrs Mondon, who thanked everyone who have contributed towards the reading campaign.

On behalf of the artists, Mrs Chetty Payet said given that artists are endowed with the ability to see and to communicate visually, they are not only proud to take part in the project, but importantly very happy to help promote reading among children.

“After all, one of our missions is to help make this world a more interesting and better place to live in despite all the challenges,” said Mrs Chetty Payet, who conveyed her deepest gratitude to all her colleague artists for adding a new dimension to the project and for inspiring others.  

The short ceremony kicked off with the campaign song ‘Sesel Lir Avek Mwan’ sang by a group of students from the Mont Fleuri secondary school. The song has been composed by Raymond Clarisse. The students along with their teacher, Annisa Hoareau, were later presented with certificates of participation by Mrs Simeon. She also presented certificates of appreciation to the artists. The exhibition which is open from 9am to 4pm everyday, will close on Thursday.

Sarep member, Dr Odile de Commarmond, later said the project is to help students better themselves in their academic subjects.

She noted that research has shown that reading aloud to children has many beneficial effects on the language, social and emotional development of the child. A child who is read to regularly has an increased vocabulary and better chance of success later on in school compared to a child who is not read to and has few or no books at home.

Text & photos by Patrick Joubert