Arts education today: challenges
On 6th and 7th March 2024, we took part in the 5th International Seminar on Arts Education, with the theme: "Arts education today: challenges" with the Paula Frassinetti School of Education (ESEPF).
The first meeting was online and had 14 speakers and 200 participants. It discussed the importance of art education in the cognitive and personal development of children and young people, such as critical, creative and analytical thinking skills, emotional intelligence, innovation and mindfulness.
On the second day, we took part in a face-to-face workshop at the ESEPF with teachers with artistic and musical training from the University of Castilla - La Mancha, Spain. The music workshops were attended by 50 students and educators from various schools, from primary to secondary, in the arts, music and theatre. VivaLab was represented by Cláudia and Catarina, who had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the marvellous world of music, from exploring different genres and styles to challenging our creative limits, every moment shared was an enriching experience.
After a round of dynamic presentation with a ball, we started dancing to the sound of a rhythm to warm up. The group began to move around the room with specific steps according to the music (for example, a Turkish waltz). Then we transformed these movements into paintings - dots, lines and stripes following the rhythms and so we made a work of art.
Later, using LED finger lights, we did an activity in the dark where we switched the light on and off, related to maths, to work on location (even, odd, near and far).
Next, we did an activity related to motor coordination, concentration and memory, where in pairs we had two hoops and to the sound of the music we had to go in and out and follow a sequence (clap, tap the leg and snap the fingers).
Once again, in an activity we used fine art to express the rhythm of the music we had to draw boats, sea waves, fish and octopuses.
With a simple resource that we all have access to - a newspaper, we were able to make beautiful sounds to the rhythm of the music and the sequence (kneading, stretching, shaking, smoothing, turning and blowing).
To learn how to make a pizza and pass on this knowledge to the little ones, we rolled the pizza to the sound of music, cut it and added the ingredients.
Finally, we were challenged to represent four pictures, where the group was divided up, each group was randomly assigned a picture and we had to present it to the sound of a song respecting the musical tempos.
We would like to emphasise the commitment of the trainers and the enthusiasm they showed in the workshop. It was an honour for us to acquire pedagogical knowledge that we can now put into practice and explore, create and share our passion for education, because the power of education is infinite and transformative.
