Call For Participants! CANVAS FOR CHANGE

C A N V A S   F O R   C H A N G E

Harnessing Public Art to Empower Youth and Communities

Erasmus+

9-18 December 2024  | LOCATION Elmas/Cagliari (ITALY)  

APPLICATION FORM BELOW

Background of this seminar 

Canvas for Change delves into the intersection of public art, youth work, and social/political action, emphasising the transformative power of art in engaging young people and fostering civic participation. The project aims at harnessing the power of creativity as a tool for social change in local communities. 

Despite the potential of public art to inspire civic engagement, especially in young people,  youth workers, artists, and changemakers often lack the necessary tools and strategies to harness this power effectively. Additionally, marginalised youth frequently face barriers to participation in artistic and civic activities. 

The primary aim of this project is twofold: to explore the synergy between public art and youth work and to equip youth workers, artists, and changemakers with the skills to engage young people in civic actions, foster political participation, raise awareness on pressing issues, and advocate for social change. Moreover, the project aims at creating a platform of exchange between young artists, youth workers and changemakers from European Islands (Sardinia, Madeira, Malta, Cyprus, Greek or Spanish Islands and Iceland). 

Specific Objectives of the project are: 

• Increase Knowledge and Understanding of youth workers around public art’s forms and practices;
• Equip youth workers with the necessary skills to support young artists in creating and displaying public art, while promoting accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability;
• Analyze case studies of impactful public art projects to learn about community engagement, social impact, and advocacy;
• Facilitate networking and European cooperation among participants and organisations to bolster collaboration among participants;
• Foster Use public art to involve marginalized groups, especially young people, in creative activities that enhance their engagement and creativity, focusing on community-building, particularly in island communities;
• Provide Island-based artists with resources and knowledge to use public art for self-expression and community engagement, thus addressing unique issues of island communities. 

Activities of the project will include: 

• Introduction for youth workers to the concept of public art and its various forms and practices;
• Workshops about challenges and opportunities of using public spaces for artistic expression, including issues of accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability;
• Capacity building training for youth workers and artists to develop cross-disciplinary competences;
• Lectures and discussions with experts in the field of public art;
• Field trips to public art installations;
• Workshops and hands-on field interventions on how to use public art to address societal issues, to engage the general public and to stimulate or challenge the public opinion;
• Presentations and group work on case studies of successful public art in terms of community engagement, social impact, advocacy and stimulus of public opinion around important topics;
• Networking opportunities for young artists, changemakers and creatives, to help them to combat their geographic isolation, to offer them exposure and opportunities for personal and professional development, to develop their project in an international setting;
• Workshops for artists aiming at empowering them in the art sector;
• Networking and collaboration sessions aiming at developing new project and ideas in the field public art, community building, youth participation and engagement;
• Sessions dedicated to present the culture and artistic richness of European islands.
• Workshops on how to include marginalised youth into activities that stimulate their creativity and their sense of engagement;
• Hands-on practical sessions of street art, murals, community art or performances;
• Exploring the possibilities of public art as a tool for community-building, with a particular focus on the needs and the peculiarities of islands.

Participants’ profile:

• Being 18+
• Being resident in Sardinia (Italy), Madeira (Portugal), Greek Islands (Greece), Malta, Cyprus, Iceland, Austria or Spain. 
• Being a youth workers working with marginalised youth and communities; 
• Being a young artists (working on public art for social impact or seeking to widen their knowledge on public art and youth work); 
• Being a young changemakers working in the field of local development and on social innovation;   

We explicitly encourage participants of all genders, sexual orientations, abilities and nationalities as well as cultural backgrounds, religion and social status to apply. There will be a space to share any inclusion needs before the training, and the team will be in touch in case there is the need to organise any special arrangements. 

Who’s involved in organising this?

Urban Center is an interdisciplinary network of professionals whose mission is to  promote social change and local development harnessing the power of creativity and innovation. Since 2012, Urban Center designs project for local development, culture and innovation, promotes young artistic talent, provides (public) spaces for self-expression and exhibition, and supports processes of innovation (especially in the cultural sector). 

Here you can find more info on Urban Center:

Website: https://www.urbancenter.eu/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbancenter_/

PRATICAL INFORMATIONS

Finances and Travel 

• Food and accommodation during the training will be fully provided; 
• Reimbursement of the travel tickets will be 100% up to the maximum amounts indicated in the rules of the Erasmus+ programme after the receipt of original documents. Check Erasmus Guide 2023. 
• Distances can be calculated with Erasmus+ Distance Calculator.  Here you can find the amounts that we can reimburse in relation to the distance. 

10 – 99 km 23 EUR

100 – 499 km 180 EUR (for non-green travel)  210 EUR (for green travel) 

500 – 1999 km 275 EUR (for non-green travel)  320 EUR (for green travel) 

2000 – 2999 km 360 EUR (for non-green travel)   410 EUR (for green travel) 

3000 – 3999 km 530 EUR (for non-green travel)  610 EUR (for green travel) 

4000 – 7999 km 820 EUR 

• We strongly encourage green travel (i.e. avoid travel by plane, if possible; instead travel by ferry). We are available to give you advice on this and offer a higher travel budget for eco-friendly options. 
• Other necessary expenses, such as visa fees will be reimbursed after approval by organisers. 
• Any difficulties or expensive travel situations can be discussed with coordinators. 

Location and food

The training will take place in Elmas, a small city close to Cagliari, at the “Padri Comaschi” Center. This venue is a small green oasis with vast open spaces, gardens, and various facilities. It is nestled in nature and equipped with different rooms, a large kitchen, and outdoor spaces, where some activities will also be conducted. 

The center is located 20 minutes by car from Cagliari and a 30-minute walk from Elmas Airport, where there is a train station that takes you to the city center of Cagliari. 

Food will be provided by a local cook, with a menu predominantly consisting of vegan dishes and vegetarian options. The kitchen will be accessible for everyone to use, ensuring there are options for those with food intolerances or allergies. 

Care work

We would like everyone to carry out care work during the seminar. Care work describes the activities of caring and looking after others. In general care work includes, for example, childcare or care for the elderly, but also family support, domestic care and helping friends are understood as care work. For us in the seminar, shared care work means that we look after each other, we all take on smaller tasks and together we create a caring atmosphere.

READY TO APPLY?

If you’ve read all the information in this call and feel ready to apply…amazing! Fill in the application form. 

For more information or questions, please write to the sending organisation in your country or directly at urbancenter.eu@gmail.com. 

CONTACTS

Urban Center (Sardinia, Italy): urbancenter.eu@gmail.com 

ARTE.M (Madeira, Portugal): artassociationmadeira@gmail.com

Popularte, L’Arte Fora di Cità (Corsica, France): fabienflori@gmail.com

Outvert Art Space (Iceland): galleryoutvert@gmail.com 

Madrid Street Art Project (Spain): info@madridstreetartproject.com

PlanBE (Cyprus): planbe.youth@gmail.com

Future Icons (Austria): info@future-icons.at 

Gozo Nadur Local Council: arturuporta@gmail.com

The first deadline for applications is September, 15  2024. 

All those accepted will later receive a detailed info sheet with information on the venue, detailed timetable, and preparation tasks before the training.

Funding information

Canvas for Changes: Harnessing Public Art to Empower Youth and Communities is an Erasmus+ Seminar financed by the ANG (Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani) with an Erasmus+ grant.