Embodiment Digital: Mind the Gap – Art as a Sealant in times of Social Distancing Erasmus Project

Project Title

Embodiment Digital: Mind the Gap – Art as a Sealant in times of Social Distancing

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 : Partnerships for Creativity

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

In a Global Village, due to the progressive trend towards differentiating possibilities and pluralistic values ​​and norms, daily life gradually becomes a form of art.
Therefore the current challenges of the COVID19 crisis are representative of the challenges of our changing society and emphasize the relevance of informal education, the acquisition of skills, and the need for virtual meetings, teaching, and learning spaces.
For this reason, organizations from Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal have joined forces in the project “Embodiment Digital: Mind the Gap – Art as a Sealant in Times of Social Distancing.” The common goal is to establish a cross-disciplinary platform for co-production, exchange, and discourse within the framework of a virtual and physical “creative residence.” By interlinking stakeholders in the field of socio-culture with professional grassroots organizations in the cultural and creative industries, new approaches will give rise to creative solutions in regards of current and future challenges.
The wording “Mind the Gap” chosen in the project title reflects the project’s claim to build on the gaps in current state aid measures as an alternative supplement based on the principle of “helping people to help themselves”.
Besides, by investigating the crisis’s potential opportunities, the project initiates a paradigm shift by opening up the supposedly paradoxical question of how the lockdown opened up the possibilities.
The projects is based on a holistic understanding of cultural education as an umbrella term, in particular concerning the social and political dimensions of an expanded, multidimensional concept of culture,
In addition to the transnational project meetings for administrative purposes, the project contains six blended mobilities, where virtual and physical activities are combined.
Each activity has a specific thematic focus and allows the host organisation to present their uniqie approaches and perspectives.
Within a framework of online training courses and so-called “virtual campfire events”, each activity contains a wide range of theoretical and practical learning opporunities towards during the physical mobility.
In addition to embodiesd practices, such as intercultural dance and circus pedagogy, participation art, media aesthetics, digital art, media design, upcycling, and professional event management.
Methodologically, the activities are based on a pillar-phase model that promotes both horizontal and vertical coherence.
The project aims to of the different backgrounds, profiles, specific knowledge, and skills, as well as individual solution strategies in connection with the current crisis,
should enable help for self-help as well as contribute to a stronger European awareness and serve as a source of inspiration about innovations in your local environment.
Through jointly developed solution strategies in the form of media, effective spaces and flexible pop-up formats,
The project aims to sustainably increase the resilience of the cultural and creative sectors by enabling organizations to react flexibly to unexpected chances and adapt their events through Digital solutions and flexible Pop-up Event Formats when physical encounters are limited.
Furthermore a second main goal of the project is to strengthen the digital skills of all organizations involved. Thus, by building on the momentum of the last few months, the proposal aligns with the EU Commissions action plan for digital education and therefore provides a practical answer.
is practically complied with and digital inequality is counteracted.
Besides, the interdisciplinary approach enables amateur actors to perform in professional contexts by utilizing media aesthetic methods and provides access to professional, artistic education to marginalized populations.
In return, the socio-cultural component broadens the action field of professional art industries and to raises awareness towards the social, political, and educational dimensions of their work.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 111523 Eur

Project Coordinator

NamaStay – Social Justice Lab e.V. & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Fernblick GmbH
• Fundación Escuela de Solidaridad
• TENROCK SOCIETA’ COOPERATIVA SOCIALE
• Compagnia d’Arte Dinamica AlphaZTL
• Popolomondo – Associação Cultural