ART FOR ALL: an inclusive approach to cultural heritage Erasmus Project

Project Title

ART FOR ALL: an inclusive approach to cultural heritage

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

“ART FOR ALL: an inclusive approach to cultural heritage” is a KA229 School Exchange Partnership that involves schools from five different European countries. The project focuses on ART as a vector of social cohesion which helps stimulate the critical sense, encourage creativity and foster participation. ART is the perfect medium through which young European citizens can gain first-hand experience of the “Unity in Diversity” which characterizes the EU. Access to heritage is a fundamental right of ALL and should be made available to and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. Schools, as education agencies, can lead the way towards a culture of full participation, starting by enhancing inclusive methodologies throughout the learning process and aiming at modelling best practices that could be adopted by other cultural/social institutions. The objectives of the project ART for ALL are twofold: on the one hand it aims to involve students in the discovery of the common roots of Europe’s cultural heritage by networking with peers from different countries thus promoting an enriching dialogue and interaction within and between communities; on the other it plans to promote within educational/cultural institutions a wider concept of inclusion, promoting practices that foster togetherness and solidarity. The Partnership consists of five secondary schools located in Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Belgium. IIS F. Mengaroni is a Secondary Art School in the city of Pesaro, in central Italy. The school combines the appreciation and preservation of local artistic traditions and cultural heritage with attention to new trends and contemporary languages in the artistic field. It is also the Education Centre for Inclusion in the province, acting as coordinator for training and support to all local schools and teachers. The institution Agrupamento de Escolas Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro is situated in Caldas da Rainha, about 80 km north from the capital (Lisbon). Teachers and students have been sharing and exchanging their work in many European countries and the Arts have always been one of the priorities. Terra Santa College is a private educational body consisting of 3 levels of education (Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary education). With a strong emphasis on cooperation & teamwork, Terra Santa College is an active participant in European and bilateral cultural projects considered as a great chance to broaden pupils’ horizons, to exchange knowledge and communicate with students coming from different realities and cultures. 134 SU “Dimcho Debeljanov” in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a Secondary school with Hebrew and English Studies. At higher level from 8th to 12th grade the students focus on 3 profiles: “Foreign Languages”, “Software and Hardware Sciences” and the all-new “Science”. Objective of the school is to prepare students for the challenges of their future life. Atheneum Athena in Ostend, Belgium is a secondary school in general education with innovative streams in sectors like STEM and CLIL. Students aged 12 to 18 follow general education in a variety of sectors. The school works to bridge the gap between youth and participation in cultural projects, especially for students with lesser favourable social backgrounds and for this reason has promoted various European projects. The starting point of the project will be a reflection on the approach to ART in our local communities. The project will take off with each school choosing a distinctive cultural product and, after a phase of research and analysis, students will investigate how the chosen artwork is displayed, its accessibility and any other element relevant to people’s participation and full enjoyment of the piece of Art. Each school will then start thinking about the obstacles that may be experienced while approaching their chosen artwork and imagine how to overcome different types of barriers. Students will cooperate to create the aids needed to allow full appreciation of the chosen cultural artefact. Each set of materials will compose an “inclusive toolkit” (for example 3D reproductions or paintings, audio descriptions, augmented reality experiences, simplified texts, hands-on activities for children, videos, digital media, background information in different languages etc.) designed to allow anyone to learn about significant cultural heritage. Activities will be carried out in blended form with students collaborating on eTwinning and during short-term exchanges. The methodology agreed on is based on active and collaborative learning, on sharing experiences and ideas and on involving all participants in the creative process respecting different needs and points of view. The creation of the inclusive toolkits will lead to the adoption of the ready-made packages by the local communities (museums, municipalities, cultural institutions, etc.) and will allow public from all over the world to appreciate the related works of art, even at a distance.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 165219 Eur

Project Coordinator

ISTITUTO ISTRUZIONE SUPERIORE F.MENGARONI & Country: IT

Project Partners

• AGRUPAMENTO D ESCOLAS RAFAEL BORDALO PINHEIRO
• Terra Santa College
• 134 SU “Dimcho Debeljanov”
• GO! Atheneum Oostende