Conference Proceedings 2010 [pdf] - Art & Design Symposium ...

Aims and Objectives: The project aimed to strengthen art in local community education curricula and to
restore relationships with inhabitants and their own community through an action painting.
The project underlined the necessity to help people to express their ideas and imagination without fears
through creativity. All inhabitants of different ages, born or living in Soveria Mannelli, have been questioned to
work together in painting a public wall (40mx9m) as a symbol of their cooperation and creativity.
Case Study: How do you imagine “ Le Domaine de Fonds Saint-Jacques”- Martinique 2006
Le Domaine de Fonds Saint-Jacques is an old sugar distillery. It is situated close to the city of Saint-Marie in
the northern of Martinique. It is a rural town. It was built in 17 century by the Dominicans. In 1696 the distillery
achieved prosperity thanks to the father Labat. In 1904 the production is stopped. In 1933 the property is
distributed to the habitants of the area. In 1948, Fond Saint-Jacques, become department.
Diagnosis: a disadvantaged group of young people were not integrated in the local community and not
involved in the centre actions. Most of them didn’t come to the culture centre and did not feel concerned by the
artistic activities. The monument is an important part of the local history, but this group of adolescents did not
“use” it. They used to play football close to it.
Aims and Objectives: We wanted to restore relationships with young people and children and make them
appropriate the building and integrate them into the community. We brought together adolescents and children
between 6-20 years old born in Fonds Saint-Jacques and questioned them about their memories and their
views of the old distillery (what representation did they have of the monument did they often visit it, when, and
in which occasion, what were their memories of it, etc.). This created links between generations and between
new inhabitants and old ones, families settled in Fonds Saint-Jacques. It also helped to create bridges
between past, present, and future, and to restore the relation between them and the monument, between the
population and the centre.
During the first part of the project (about 1 month) I met them, informed them about the project and invited
them to participate. I worked in cooperation with a local artist. We organised two artistic ateliers: paintings and
sculpture and we divided them in two groups. We visited the whole monument and questioned them about their
view of the old distillery and its history and identity. We started to collect their memories and to ask them to
realize paintings or sculptures on their own vision of the monument. Using two form of art, all of them realized
its own and personal art object.
During the second part of the project (about 1 month) we organised their exhibition, we cooperated together
in managing the space and we integrated them to the final show. The purpose was to give them visibility at
local and national level. Their participation was important to establish a new contact with their family and the
community.
Evaluation: during the whole project, we worked at the same time as the children. We organized regular
meetings in order for the group to express their opinions and ideas about the project. We were particularly
attentive to the evolution of the group, of their relationships and attitude toward the building, the centre and the
society. We shared our experiences, we discussed on origins, story, problems, dreams, conflict and hopes.
Case Study: Kids’ Guernica - Martinique 2007
“The Abolition of Discrimination”
In 2007 we decided to ask them to realize a Kids’-Guernica canvas.
Evaluation: they were more communicative and self-confident. The most marginal group who didn’t
participate in the past year was integrated in the project. The artistic process was very interesting in listening to
their opinion on slavery.
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