Room 13 in Soweto and Botshabelo

A few months ago, TBWA, an international advertising agency with a branch in Johannesburg, launched a project to teach more than 100 pupils from Sapebuso Primary School in Soweto and Mmulakgoro Primary School in Botshabelo in Bloemfontein, how to earn an income from art. The project, known as Room 13, will see the pupils holding an exhibition and selling their art to the public. Woolworths donated R200 000 to enable pupils to buy additional material. The original Room 13 started in Scotland in 1994 when two 11-year old girls volunteered to take their school's photographs and bought a camera with the money they earned in the process. They then asked artist Rob Fairley what it would take for him to come and work with them at the school. "Pay me," Fairley said and so Room 13 was born. He started working with the young entrepreneurs, but as their employee rather than their teacher. Today other young children at Caol Primary School continue to run the project.