Page of Possibilities Show (2024)

The Page of Possibilities workshop series for children (aged 4–12) was developed by OAOA in collaboration with Page Not Found.

The framework draws inspiration from the pedagogical ideas of Célestin Freinet, founder of the École Moderne. Freinet introduced the printing press into the classroom as a tool through which children could publish their own thoughts and experience authorship and the agency of having a voice. Building on this principle, the workshops approach publishing as an accessible and empowering practice.

Children are invited to create their own printed matter using simple materials and techniques that can easily be continued at home. The sessions are guided by child-led learning. Rather than following a fixed agenda, ideas emerge from the participants themselves while workshop leaders support the development of their interests and encourage exchange, experimentation and collaboration.

In 2024 the workshop series was adapted for children living in asylum seeker centres, taking into account the specific conditions of fragmented attendance and the limited materials and tools available to children in their rooms. Page Not Found invited Fatemeh Heidari and Zahar Bondar to lead the Page of Possibilities workshops at AZC Katwijk.

Developed in collaboration with OAOA, the sessions unfolded under the umbrella theme “Book as Theatre”, inviting children to experiment with large-format book objects and to occupy paper expansively by creating human-sized books, book-houses and book-costumes. Large sheets of paper became temporary territories where children could stretch gestures, stories and characters across space.

At the conclusion of the programme OAOA and Page Not Found organised an exhibition at Page Not Found together with the children, presenting the works produced during the workshops.