Run nationally for the past four years by Nelson Mandela University’s Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre (GMMDC), the competition has started to break down barriers between maths and art departments in schools and universities, attracted interest internationally and from the most remote corners of SA, and become an outlet for pupils to express their deepest emotions, and be heard.
Each year, the competition introduces a different theme, ranging from maths in human designs or nature to “my universe” to “beautiful mathematics”, with pupils submitting artworks, supported by written explanations.
What has emerged every year are a broad range of exquisite artworks, some looking at the mathematical patterns found in nature, in the leaves of a succulent, the symmetry of a human face to architecture.
The work has been incredible, but it is the outpouring of emotion and the engagement between people that has added extra flavour.
The pupils have not just shared their feelings about maths, their passion or frustration for the subject, or surprise in discovering mathematics all around them, but also their feelings and questions about other aspects of life.
With maths defining perfect proportions, some of the artworks have also become an outlet for girls to talk about their bodies, the pressures they face to meet the world’s expectations of perfection and size.
Those who have looked at maths and machines have shared an excitement for the future and how fast the world is moving.
In the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and the violent riots in parts of SA earlier in 2021, teachers and pupils shared how the competition gave them something positive to focus on.
It is also important to understand where the competition comes from.
For many years, GMMDC has been working with underresourced schools across the country, using a mix of technology and conventional teaching to help pupils improve their maths and science marks, to gain access to university.
Part of this has also been preparing pupils for careers in the Fourth Industrial Revolution — where digital literacy is key.
But just as important is creative problem-solving — a skill that’s not always taught in classrooms.
This is one of the reasons GMMDC has adopted STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) education as a key focus area.
It’s a shift away from STEM, a trend that is growing overseas, to to challenge pupils to understand themselves and the world around them, and to use their experiences and creativity to develop solutions that address the world’s challenges. The Math-Art Competition is STEAM in action, with creativity linking education to real-life experience.
GMMDC has strong links with an international STEAM study group, which includes participants from Finland, Austria, England and the US.
This has opened doors to deliver presentations about the competition at international conferences and to publish a book chapter and several articles, but the scope for further research and analysis remains enormous.
There is a plan to turn each year’s submissions into a book, so the work remains accessible.
What has become clear from the competition is it’s not only the pupils whose minds have been opened.
Art teachers — who have expressed reluctance to be involved in a maths competition — have seen how bringing a more creative approach into the classroom has changed pupils’ enjoyment of the subject.
A number of schools are encouraging pupils to enter the competition annually.
But not all those participating come from these schools.
One pupil, from a deep rural area, saw the competition advertised on a website and submitted his artwork on his own.
One of GMMDC’s fundamental principles is that the competition is accessible to everyone.
All that is needed to enter is a pencil and paper, and though the first round of judging takes place online, GMMDC has ensured this process uses little data.
When this pupil was selected to submit his artwork, it took GMMDC several attempts to get a courier to his community to collect his artwork — and deliver it to the university for the second round of judging.
The competition’s judges come from a broad range of disciplines, including maths, art, architecture and education, both here and abroad — stimulating new conversations and building bridges between hard sciences and social sciences, another key aim of the STEAM approach.
Competition partners over the years have included the Western and Eastern Cape departments of education, Umalusi (Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training), South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CASME), University of the Free State, Kutlwanong Centre for Maths, Science and Technology, SA Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), Independent Schools Association of SA (ISASA), and Curro Schools.
But GMMDC is always on the lookout to find other strategic partners to grow the project even more.
This article appeared in The Herald (South Africa) on 16 Nov 2021 written by Prof Werner Olivier - the Director Mathematics of the Development Govan Mbeki Centre (GMMDC) at Nelson Mandela University, Carine Steyn - the academic project coordinator at GMMDC and the project leader of the MathArt Competition and Victoria Shezi, the administrative officer of the Math-Art Competition.