Artwork – a better future for all through creativity

ARTWORK aims to expand the field of work for artists and raise increased awareness of the use of artistic methods for strengthening education and social initiatives.

Introduction

We are living in uncertain times as the world is becoming a more and more insecure place. In order to cope with this in a positive way, new footpaths of learning are needed. Culture and art can provide important competence for society. 

Artwork logo

The ARTWORK project aggregates knowledge, skills and methodologies from each participating country to provide artists with guidance and qualification for setting up artistic interventions, especially to strengthen young adults who find themselves in precarious crises. Therefore, the end beneficiaries of the ARTWORK are vulnerable young people and adults. 

The project aims to make visible how artistic and creative processes can contribute to strengthen self-awareness, self-esteem, sense of identity and active citizenship among vulnerable groups. An increased awareness will be raised both among artists, educators and social workers on the possibilities of strengthening education and social initiatives through the use of artistic and creative methods. 

This development project provides four outputs: 

  • A model of collaborative learning (CLM) connecting artists and educators
  • Training modules addressing artists wanting to work cross sectors, providing them with comprehensive knowledge
  • Recommendations for and articles about artistic interventions using aesthetic diaries as the method
  • A publicly accessible E-Learning Platform to support self-directed learning, to support online-training, and to help to do an exchange between the artists, the trainers of the artists. 

ARTWORK is a project co-financed by the European Commission within the Erasmus+ Program, including a special grant for promoting artists’ job opportunities in education and social work, as offered in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. ARTWORK will be carried out in the years 2021-23 by a European partnership consisting of organizations from Finland, Germany, Estonia, Denmark and Austria, which is the overall coordinator for the project. 

In the University of the Arts Helsinki, ARTWORK is positioned in the Research Centre CERADA. The project is conducted by Director Kai Lehikoinen and Dr. Eeva Siljamäki.

The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Contact information for the project

Project name

Artwork - a better future for all through creativity

Time

01/2022-06/2023

Funder

Erasmus+ programme

Collaborators

uniT GmbH (Austria) (coordinator)

Verein Niedersächsischer Bildungsinitiativen e.V. (VNB) (Germany)

Tartu Centre for Creative Industries (TCCI) (Estonia)

MHT CONSULT APS (Denmark)