It’s official: an exciting new adventure is on the horizon for KEHSIA, set to kick off in September!
Indeed, the Erasmus+ National Agency for Luxembourg, Anefore asbl, has given the green light to the small-scale project proposal submitted in March. Anefore asbl will be providing funding for “YOU ARE – Youth Opportunities through Upcycle, Art, Relations and Equality”, an engaging Erasmus+ project that will keep KEHSIA and its two European partners, L’isola che c’è ONLUS (Italy) and CERC (Slovenia), busy for the next 18 months.
Aligned with the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, “YOU ARE” is deeply committed to promoting active citizenship and fostering young people’s sense of initiative. With a focus on promoting inclusion, diversity, common European values, civic engagement and participation, the project will mainly address gender equality by nurturing artistic, relational, digital and green skills.
The young participants, aged between 18 and 30 years, will hail from the vulnerable contexts of Italy and Luxembourg, where it is more difficult to find opportunities for involvement in European projects and mobility schemes. Their journey will begin by exploring iconic representations of women in statues and three-dimensional models. Through analysing these depictions, participants will understand firsthand how women have been either underrepresented, misrepresented or portrayed in a sexualised and stereotyped manner throughout history, especially in public spaces.
This newfound awareness will serve as the launchpad for an artistic expedition that will guide young individuals, under the mentorships of educators and experts from the three partner organisations, to reclaim the narratives of various women who have significantly impacted history but are often neglected or inaccurately represented. The participants will receive guidance in crafting diverse sculptures, each dedicated to a distinct female figure who has played a pivotal role in culture, society, politics, or science. The objective is to challenge gender stereotypes by employing art as a potent medium of expressive communication.
The sculptures will be fashioned using upcycling techniques, offering a dual purpose of demonstrating the potential of waste for artistic expression while symbolically representing the revival of these women’s stories. This approach emphasises that discarded objects can find new life beyond their original purpose and underscores the concrete stories of these women who have been overlooked in public discourse.
The avenue for artistic expression will be complemented by workshops that equip participants with writing, oral, and digital storytelling skills and the technical know-how to create podcasts centred around the lives of the chosen female figures. The participants will be guided in crafting their podcasts, which will accompany the respective statutes during a final exhibition scheduled in Italy upon the project’s completion.
With that said, let the artistic journey start!
For the latest updates on the project, be sure to check out our blog.