CACAV – Círculo de Animação Cultural de Alhos Vedros

Name of the N-arts activity: Drawing and Painting Workshop

To allow people to discover themselves through art, to express their feelings, their ways of being and their way of seeing the world through the encouragement of being creative.

General Data

Characteristics

• From October 2018 to June 2019
• Duration of the workshop: 9 months.
• Frequency: a weekly session of three hours.
• Art form: drawing and painting
• Kind of activity: informal setting

 Participants

• Number of participants: 18 people.
• Age: from 6 to 16 years in the child group; from 40 to 70 years in the adult group.
• Gender: 8 men and 10 women.
• Social background: Participants in this workshop are people living in the community where our association is located. People are different as it is a free course, some are students, others are employed and others are already retired.

Framework

Description of the activity

The drawing and painting workshop involved a group of 18 people, ranging in age from 6 to 16 years in the child group and 40 to 70 years in the adult group.

The levels of education were also different among the group, ranging from basic education to higher education, and with diverse socio-economic and cultural conditions.

In the specific case of this workshop, it should be noted that, in addition to people with conditions resulting from a lack of affection, this group included a child identified as being on the autistic spectrum, who was perfectly framed and whose evolution in social interaction was quite significant.

As previously mentioned, the drawing and painting workshop is a learning environment for painting and drawing techniques in an open view, surpassing this idea of acquiring mastery at the artistic level. It is a place where each one is challenged to find himself in a way of expressing emotions and feelings. On the other hand, it is intended that each person gets to know themselves, to identify their difficulties and to find a way to overcome them, with the necessary help and support of the trainer.

Intention, goals, aims

• The Atelier of drawing and painting is an activity open to all age groups, but it does not focus on creating works of art in drawing and painting. 
• It is a way of encouraging each participant to discover himself/herself through art. 
• This activity allows people to express their feelings, their ways of being and their way of seeing the world - through the encouragement of being creative.
• Therefore, what results is the work of art built by the artist himself. 

Planning/preparation

We published the course in a leaflet. It was sent to diversified target groups by mail and it was also divulged on the CACAV association's website.

We tried to organize a workshop that integrated the learning of Drawing and Painting, aiming, above all, to learn about each human being, through art.

This activity intended, above all, to develop the creativity of each participant as well as the discovery of each self.

The aims to be achieved were established according to:

- the characteristics and objectives of the N-arts Project (for example we accepted people regardless of their abilities, experience, age, gender, race, that’s why the group was very diversified);

- the aims of our cultural association CACAV: we work with different adult target groups with a life-long learning perspective and in non-formal adult education in which everybody respects everybody in order to ensure participation in society. 

Teaching/Training Method

In each session there was a moment of meditation and concentration prior to the activity, trying to create a pleasant and favourable atmosphere conducive to the definition of an individual path in artistic creation.

The entire course worked with free themes, so that each trainee could follow a creative path, in an open and free way. There were no constraints or limitations that could condition the work to be carried out.

Aspects related to the mastery of techniques and use of materials were introduced during the various sessions.

The trainer presented stimuli, either through music, the presentation of images, the reading of texts or body exercises, that were intended to facilitate the discovery of individual characteristics and the expression of feelings and emotions.

The spirit of group, collaborative work and sharing of experiences was fostered.

Throughout the various sessions of the workshop, photographic and video records were made, which allowed for moments of analysis and reflection among all stakeholders. 

Outcomes

The aims of this course were fully accomplished.

The results of this workshop were very positive.

The trainee productions were of excellent quality and showed their strong motivation and commitment to perform various tasks. 

It was possible to see a clear evolution from the first session to the end of the course, in terms of techniques and quality of work.

However, the most important and significant results are related to the reinforcement of self-esteem, cultural and personal enrichment.

These can be confirmed through the responses given during the interviews, where aspects of mutual assistance and the importance of the course for their future life were highly valued.

It should be noted that two of the trainees were children with Asperger's syndrome, who adapted perfectly to the group and did several activities, with significant quality and evolution.

Thus, drawing and painting skills developed. At the same time participants became more aware of their abilities, more able to show themselves to others living in society, more self-confident in relationships.