Non-formal adult education specialists explored the art of photography
From May 9 to June 2, 2023, specialists in the field of culture and non-formal adult education from Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, Hungary and Slovenia improved their competences at international trainings in Madrid, Spain. The trainings were organized as part of the Erasmus+ KA2 project "Photography Kaleidoscope: Inclusion, Communities, and Knowledge" (PhotoKICK).
The aim of the project is to strengthen the competences of employees in the field of non-formal adult education. During the five-day program, participants explored how the art and techniques of photography can be applied in the field of cultural education for adults. The training program covered the following different topics:
• education and photography,
• cooperation in the fields of art and culture,
• strengthening the competences of cultural specialists,
• the role of cultural heritage and cultural democratization in today's society,
• creativity, equality, diversity and cultural accessibility.
The participants had the opportunity to visit studios, cultural spaces and educational centers of creative artists in Madrid, where they discussed original creative and educational practices with the creators themselves, examined individual cases of cultural education and shared best practices. During the seminars and creative workshops, the aim was to strengthen the participants' social skills, develop motivation, creativity and emotional intelligence, and provide knowledge about working with vulnerable groups in society. The training participants also visited the exhibitions of the international photography festival "PhotoEspaña 2023" held in Madrid.
Educator Valdemara Butkevičienė, educator Marius Tamašauskas, educator, and chief librarian Raimonda Vielavičienė from Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library, share their impressions of the training sessions:
"We gained an impressive experience that will help expand our professional horizons and understanding of photography. We learned more about art and the activities of cultural organizations in other countries. These trainings gave a great start to the development of new educational programs."
- educator Marius Tamašauskas
"We feel grateful for the warm welcome, working atmosphere and quality trainings. There was no shortage of good emotions and laughter, a great team was gathered! Despite the changeable weather in Madrid, we still went for a walk in the city every evening and got to know the Spanish culture by visiting places of interest in Madrid, such as the Prado Museum, Retiro Park, traditional Spanish flamenco shows, photography exhibitions, etc. It was sad to say goodbye, but we did it with hope that maybe one day we will meet again.
Summing up the trainings, we can safely say that they were indeed very useful and inspiring. We improved our knowledge of the English language, got acquainted with the culture of different countries and wonderful people, listened to the introductions of various and different teachers, the activities they implement, and the various practical tasks performed every day developed the creative powers of each of the participants and provided inspiration."
- chief librarian Raimonda Vielavičienė and educator Valdemara Butkevičienė
During the training, education and art professionals shared their personal and professional experience in the fields of non-formal adult education and photography. For some of them, the opportunity to present their activities and creativity to international training participants was a unique experience.
- Felipe Andrade - Colombian artist presented a documentary photography exhibition about vulnerable groups in society in Latin America. Currently, F. Andrade is in residence at the "Tu Patio" Art Residency in Madrid, where he aims to capture the daily lives and activities of women with intellectual disabilities attending ceramic workshops.
- Imara Campos – photographer, therapist, creator of social and humanistic projects using photography as a creative source. In the session led by I. Campos, the participants had the opportunity to try out the techniques of creating portraits in practice and examine how photography techniques help to compensate for various social histories, the inner world, and analyze feelings and experiences.
- Alberto Haj-Saleh – writer, editor, screenwriter introduced the practice of cultural mediation and presented examples of various links between art and education in different fields.
- Photographer Javier Atienza Alonso presented his experience capturing life in a Saharan refugee camp using the "pinhole" photography technique.
- Sata García Molinero - Lecturer at the Fine Arts Faculty of the Complutense University of Madrid introduced various educational and innovative resources for creating, planning and designing educational activities in different contexts.
Various experiences of representatives of different organizations and training lecturers provided opportunities to discover original educational methods of cultural education, to pay attention to the educational challenges of vulnerable groups in society, to discover photography not only as a means of artistic expression, but also as an accessible and attractive educational tool.
The association "Espacio rojo", which prepared the training program, was happy with the positive feedback from the participants and new partnerships. The organizer of the program, Carina Moreira, pointed out that while planning the training, the association managed to discover new spaces, creators, partners and strengthen relations with the participants of previous projects - Ivano de Vargas public municipal library, organizers of the Carabanchel Art Festival, students and lecturers of the Faculty of Fine Arts. In order to provide participants with a versatile experience, the organizers paid a lot of attention not only to practical activities, but also to introducing the local culture. "Espacio rojo" team hopes that the training experience inspired the participants to put new practices into practice, aroused their curiosity, creativity, and developed open, flexible and critical thinking.
"It was a real challenge, motivating and interesting!" - "Espacio rojo" team
More about PhotoKICK: www.photokick.eu
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