This task takes advantage of the strong digital story-telling experience of partners to stimulate learners to share their experiences and creative imaginings through the Art is Us platform. The stories are seen as a) an educational tool that builds engagement and multimedia literacy and b) an expressive medium for learners that integrates subject matter with extant knowledge and skills and can be made available to audiences at community/regional/national and international levels.
Personal stories
Germany
Date filmed: 9/27/2022
Length: 00:04:18
Produced by: Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V.
Izabela Modrzewska is a musician from Poland who works as a music teacher and music therapist in Dresden. She enjoys writing her own songs and playing music. Through music, she aims to connect people even if they don’t speak the same language. She combines her experiences as a teacher and therapist to help people discover their voice or musical talent in her community music project. She believes that the real challenge for an artist is to be brave and dare.
Date filmed: 10/14/2022
Length: 00:04:27
Produced by: Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V.
Ana Pireva is fascinated by materials that have their own character and power and aren’t easy to control. The main focus of her artistic work is painting on paper and stone printing. She paints with Indian ink, self-made iron gall ink, and watercolours. At the same time, she is experimenting intensively with lithography. Each picture is an intense and dynamic interaction with water, ink, and paper or stone. Chinese calligraphy and ink painting play an important role in her work process, as they are both highly valued traditions in the visual arts. She investigates the nature and the function of daily objects, old artifacts, and folklore.
Date filmed : 8/31/2022
Length: 00:06:27
Produced by: Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V.
Karolin Kutteri lives and works both in Germany and the Netherlands. One example of her work is that she created a perceptual installation for her Diploma that is meant for the senses and whose topic is the awareness of nature. It’s called the “Earth room”. She painted 3 young climate activists in an iconic style an put soil and plants in a room, and she combined it with a dance performance. She describes challenges and a controversy, where she had to fight for her art. She says that projects outside the university are crucial for an art student and talks about her work with the art collective Hanse 3.
Date filmed: 7/13/2022
Length: 00:02:27
Produced by: Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V.
Augusto Gerardi is an artist and researcher from Venezuela. His practice is based on researching the history of technology and its relation to the history of art. In this gap, he tries to develop contextual projects that will broaden the understanding of social issues. In many of his projects, art is the meeting place to open new dialogues and new possibilities. The realization of his projects has always been a hybrid between art, social work, and technology that requires the ability to actively listen and to be flexible because a successful project might change a lot until it is completed.
Date filmed: 9/7/2022
Length: 00:05:30
Produced by: Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V.
Aleksandra Vagabonda is a self-taught artist from Poland. She got actively involved in the arts at the age of 21 when she resigned from her studies and went on an unconventional self-exploration journey. Although she was interested at the beginning in drawings and oil paintings, over time she expanded her horizons to Batik, Woodcut, Woodcut print, Animation, Graffiti, and finally Tattoos. Every art piece focuses on social or emotional problems that should not be suppressed but should be brought to light and start the process of inner healing. Through her art and her projects such as the Metamorphosa festival, she strives to help people to explore themselves.
Italy
Date filmed: 10/23/2022
Length: 00:15:29
Produced by: Melting Pro
Patrizia tells how art has always accompanied her in life, from drawing to singing, photography and theatre. She sees Art is Us as a great support for those who, outside the local professional art circuits, have the desire to realise art and community projects. Patrizia suggests to listeners of her personal story, to be curious and to always immerse themselves in art to find answers, themselves and their own way.
Date filmed: Date filmed: 10/26/2022
Length: 00:07:11
Produced by: Melting Pro
The Italian participant talked about the role that Art plays in his life. He told about the association he founded, his experiences in the kitchen video blogging that he runs, the organisation of Cineforums in prisons and other social contexts, and his passion for street forum. He also gave his testimony on the path of Art is Us. Francesco is a professional educator who in his work and voluntary activities mainly uses artistic languages to relate to the group and to promote positive changes in the communities he works with. What he wants to promote with his work, using art, accessible sports and street photography is essentially the potential of each person.
Date filmed: Date filmed: 10/23/2022
Length:00:12:27
Produced by: Melting Pro
The Italian participant Fabio talked about his training experience in Denmark, in DNS College where he studies as a pedagogue. He talk also about his artistic interventions in the community about his project idea and the Art is Us project. He strongly believes in the power of art at all stages of life, especially in childhood, as it holds immense potential for blossoming talents and self-expression. Although he is very young, he has had many artistic experiences such as concerts, theatre performances, street actions. He has formed a group with other students from his school and they call themselves “The Weird Ones”. He wants to continue to explore the theme of art, the empowerment of community and the social justice.
Date filmed: 11/30/2022
Length:00:05:43
Produced by: Melting Pro
The Italian participant Ermes talks about himself and his journey as a ‘human being’. He tells of his projects, namely that of making the oppression of the Palestinian people known through his work and the theatrical performance he has devised, as well as that of creating a permaculture training centre and finally that of being an activist for human and animal rights. Thanks to the Art is Us project, he says he has had the opportunity to enter a wider network and this may be very useful for his future projects.
Date filmed: 11/26/2022
Length: 00:09:48
Produced by: Melting Pro
Chiara Ballone tells us about her experience in the arts as a psychologist and as a poet, writer, performer, dancer and organiser of events. She tells us how she combines, both in her work and in her personal artistic research, the expressive aspect of art with the therapeutic aspect through art-therapy in various forms: from photo-therapy to music-therapy, psycho-poetry and emotional writing, paths that she has devised and developed on various occasions. She also tells of his project that he wants to realise in order to unite the artistic and psychological worlds in an Experimental and Artistic-Therapeutic Training Centre that offers the community not only a new approach to mental health through the artistic vehicle above all, but is for the community itself a meeting place for professionals and artists to exchange, research, train, experiment and apply new psychological-artistic languages.
Greece
Date filmed: 5/16/2022
Length:00:14:21
Produced by:THE ART AND ACTION NETWORK
Christos is interviewing Anna as a way for her to share her personal story. Anna is a Ukrainian artist based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is a painter, mostly in portraits, but also an instructor and mentor for other artists. She is also a marathoner and vegan. Anna during the war in Ukraine, started an art business community in order to support artists from Ukraine and to bring people together.
Date filmed: 5/17/2022
Length:00:14:14
Produced by:THE ART AND ACTION NETWORK
Christos is interviewing Olia Rychagivska, a learner of the Art is Us project. Olia is an educator from Ukraine based in Athens and she is the head of the OPORA center, a volunteer centre that supports the Ukrainian people who have arrived in Greece.
Date filmed: 5/10/2022
Length:00:06:36
Produced by:THE ART AND ACTION NETWORK
George Kekeris is interviewing Eleni Perrou, who is a primary school teacher in the general school and also in special education. She has a Masters degree in special education in order to help children with disabilities.
Date filmed: 5/11/2022
Length:00:12:22
Produced by:THE ART AND ACTION NETWORK
Pandora is interviewing Kosmas. Kosmas is a musician based in Athens. He has studied at the department of English literature at the University of Athens. He sings, plays the piano, the guitar and also the ukulele. He composes his music and he has an original song released.
Date filmed: 5/10/2022
Length:00:08:10
Produced by:THE ART AND ACTION NETWORK
George Kekeris is interviewing Ramon Constantino. Ramon is half Greek half Mexican and has studied Spanish language at the University of Athens. He has a master at intercultural education and he has worked with the Roma community and refugees. He is also a Latin dance instructor, an actor and a stand up comedian.
Date filmed: 5/12/2022
Length:00:18:59
Produced by:THE ART AND ACTION NETWORK
Pandora is interviewing Stamatis who is an artist and a painter. He has studied Social Work at the University of Crete and he started working in Eleusis in order to help elderly people. He was also a volunteer in the organization Red Umbrella in Athens, helping and supporting sex workers.
Slovenia
Date filmed: 5/9/2023
Length: 00:12:22
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
Hakim Asnabla’s personal journey as an activist in Morocco, which included imprisonment and seeking asylum in Slovenia, had a profound impact on him. He now desires to amplify the stories of marginalized and vulnerable individuals through creative means, particularly through his photography. In addition to supporting his community, he is also striving to establish an artistic career as a photographer.
Date filmed: 5/24/2023
Length: 00:08:49
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
Anna Miklashevich is an artist, art educator and community leader born in Ukraine but living in Slovenia. In 2022 she started “Uartist 83” online community to support Ukrainian artists to keep creating, even after the traumatic experience of war. She encourages artist to share their experience, stories and perspectives, so their voices are heard throughout the world. In this video she speaks about her life journey and her endeavours as an artist, art educator and community leader.
Date filmed: 5/24/2023
Length: 00:05:21
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
“Camilo Acosta Mendoza, a Colombian artist, discovered the art of clowning in 2007. Despite having a stable engineering career, he chose to take to the streets of Bogota to perform and delve into the world of clowning. In 2012, he ventured to France to further his expertise in this discipline. From 2013 to 2015, Camilo completed an 18-month training program in public art creation, which propelled him to explore the transformative power of clowning and utilize performative arts to contribute to the pre-creation and re-evolution of humanity.
For the past 10 years, Camilo has made Slovenia his home, using his clowning skills to engage communities, captivate audiences with street performances, and foster intercultural dialogue. Within the framework of the Art is Us project, Camilo, in collaboration with Markos, conducted impactful workshops known as “”circus interventions”” in two communities in need. The first workshop involved a partnership with Cona Polje, where young individuals from disadvantaged families were invited to participate in an interactive workshop. The second workshop took place in a refugee camp in Logatec, offering children from refugee families an opportunity to engage in the transformative power of the circus. These interventions were guided by the principles of social circus, which employs art as an educational alternative to empower at-risk youth. “
Date filmed: 5/24/2023
Length: 00:05:16
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
Markos is an Eritrean circus artist based in Slovenia. He describes his connection and passion for circus, emphasizing its significance in his life as a means of self-expression and communication Markos grew up in Ethiopia and attending a circus school played a crucial role in his life. Later, he moved to Slovenia and experienced challenges in a local refugee camp, leading him to perform and teach circus activities to the refugee children. Markos views circus as a universal language that transcends linguistic barriers, fostering connections and spreading joy.
Date filmed: 5/24/2023
Length: 00:05:21
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
“Camilo Acosta Mendoza, a Colombian artist, discovered the art of clowning in 2007. Despite having a stable engineering career, he chose to take to the streets of Bogota to perform and delve into the world of clowning. In 2012, he ventured to France to further his expertise in this discipline. From 2013 to 2015, Camilo completed an 18-month training program in public art creation, which propelled him to explore the transformative power of clowning and utilize performative arts to contribute to the pre-creation and re-evolution of humanity.
For the past 10 years, Camilo has made Slovenia his home, using his clowning skills to engage communities, captivate audiences with street performances, and foster intercultural dialogue. Within the framework of the Art is Us project, Camilo, in collaboration with Markos, conducted impactful workshops known as “”circus interventions”” in two communities in need. The first workshop involved a partnership with Cona Polje, where young individuals from disadvantaged families were invited to participate in an interactive workshop. The second workshop took place in a refugee camp in Logatec, offering children from refugee families an opportunity to engage in the transformative power of the circus. These interventions were guided by the principles of social circus, which employs art as an educational alternative to empower at-risk youth. “
Date filmed: 5/24/2023
Length: 00:05:16
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
Markos is an Eritrean circus artist based in Slovenia. He describes his connection and passion for circus, emphasizing its significance in his life as a means of self-expression and communication Markos grew up in Ethiopia and attending a circus school played a crucial role in his life. Later, he moved to Slovenia and experienced challenges in a local refugee camp, leading him to perform and teach circus activities to the refugee children. Markos views circus as a universal language that transcends linguistic barriers, fostering connections and spreading joy.
Date filmed: 5/25/2023
Length: 00:07:01
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
Jasna Gabrovšek speaks about literary international book project Heroines! and about the successful implementation of creative workshop she led for adopted girls with African heritage. The workshop aimed to empower the girls from diverse backgrounds by sharing inspiring stories of women in Slovenia who also have diverse backgrounds. It explored the challenges and strengths of living in Slovenia while maintaining roots in another culture. Jasna Gabrovšek, a mother of children with African and Slovenian cultures, co-led the workshop with Helena Tahrir, an artist from an Iraqi-Slovenian family. They engaged the girls in discussions about their experiences, aspirations, and admired figures, while introducing them to successful stories of women of African descent. The girls expressed their impressions and emotions through art and words. In the afternoon, the girls’ parents joined a discussion to share their own experiences and discuss ways to support their children’s self-discovery.
Date filmed: 2/15/2023
Length: 00:17:07
Produced by APIS Institute/ Zavod APIS, Slovenia
“This is a creative interview with the Terminus 360° video artist. The artist draws inspiration from personal struggles, utilizing them to create experimental art filled with positive elements. The interview reflects the video’s distinctive nature, with a far-from-ordinary approach. In the video, viewers encounter an array of visual elements including constellations, a tardigrade, mirrors, and a retro-futuristic portal in space. Complementing these visual elements, the music, interweaving guitar samples, synthesizers, multilingual poetry, and the artist’s vocals, creates an uplifting, nostalgic tone. In essence, this interview gives a glimpse into the creation process of a piece that’s a deep exploration of identity through art. This is how the artist describes the video in his own words: “”Through an innovative fusion of whimsical futurism and technological nostalgia, the visionary artist transports us on a metaphysical journey with his groundbreaking 360 degree renderings and avant-garde musical compositions in this multimedia Gesamtkunstwerk . Evoking both science fiction fantasies and ancient myths, the meticulously crafted visuals immerse us in imaginative realms filled with celestial maps, analog antiquities, and fantastic digital creatures, whose strong character has evolved through time and space.
Like an intrepid tardigrade traversing inhospitable worlds, the work spreads ideas across cultures, providing glimpses into alternate planes of coexistence where we are not defined by differences but unified in our shared human longings.””