Knitting into the wild

I know: it’s not new and it’s being done in many places. But knit graffiti in the Amsterdam zoo Artis surprised me anyhow. I discovered it watching the daily children's news. What makes it special is that a lot of girls and boys have learned to knit especially to contribute too.

Photo: Natura Artis Magistra

A class of nine year olds of Weremere school in Wormer participated. "It's fun to do when I'm bored", "it makes me happy" and "it looks good when a piece is finished" is what the children say about knitting. But also: "it kept going wrong" and "it's quite fiddly". They all agree however: this graffiti makes the world more cheerful without any damage.

Film: Jeugdjournaal

Dutch children's author Francine Oomen initiated the exhibition. With her publisher and the zoo she organised knitting gatherings where two to three hundred knitters between five and 85 went wild to make graffiti. If you want to have a look - it's in Artis until March 16th 2011.

Photo: wildbreien.nl