About our project

BREAKING WITH GENDER STEREOTYPES AND THE INVISIBILITY LOOP

According to Ann Sutherland Harris and Linda Nochlin, in “ Women artists”, there have always been
women who are artists, but they were invisible for the history books. It is a fact that some female
artists adopted male names and some others just used her initials in order to get their work
recognized by the world of art. Nowadays this invisibility persists in our society, could you name five
women artists? How many men artists can you name? Do you think this great difference is directly
proportional to the importance of women in art? What can we deduce from this fact? No doubt school
reflects society, and the lack of references to women artist in early education is notable, but society
also reflects school, and that is why introducing women artist through the Visual and Plastic
Expression subject gives the opportunity of breaking this loop. According to “The Strategic
engagement for gender equality 2016-2019” gender equality concerns are mainstreamed in
Erasmus+, to promote gender equality in all levels and types of education, using existing policy
cooperation tools and funding instruments as appropriate, in line with the priorities set out in the
“Education and Training 2020” framework.

BROADEN THE LOOK TOWARDS ART

Throughout modern art history, women had no right to professional fulfillment via the conventional
male artists' paths. So, in order to find their own direction female artists worked with textiles and
crafts. Men had largely ignored these mediums because they considered them to be secondary to
painting or sculpture. This fact gave women the freedom to experiment. For similar reasons they
embraced new materials and new media like photography and video and became innovators in
performance and installation. We must vindicate the minor art as it teaches us to see, to readjust our
eyes, to invent the visible world anew and to discover possibilities that are there and that for more
conventional or ideological reasons we have stopped side. The introduction of new techniques,
"minor genres", and diversity in the approaches to art in early education will guide students towards
taking pleasure in the wide variety of artistic expressions.
In this context, the project plans to introduce the examples of European women artists into primary
education through the arts curricula in order to put into value their works and show the real
importance their works have had in the history of art, breaking the invisibility loop and the gender
stereotypes, with the aim of transfer this awareness to other fields or subjects. As these female
artists are introduced to the primary education the diversity of techniques/art approaches will also be
broadened.

The project contributes to raising awareness of the importance of Europe's artistic heritage and it
promotes gender equality through breaking gender stereotypes in the artistic field. It also addresses
the development of key competencies in students aged 10-12 and teachers through visual and
plastic art education in Bari, (Italy), Florina (Greece), Luboń (Poland) and Valencia (Spain).

SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE:

It is an opportunity to give European female art social and educational recognition and value.
WIA project will raise awareness of the importance of Europe's female cultural heritage from a social
inclusive point. As a result, pupils will develop their competence in critical thinking and youth
engagement.
The fact of working in a European collaborative way gives the opportunity of working on the
globalization of art, fostering an intercultural dialogue involving teachers and pupils, respecting and
valuing each other's art, putting our own national cultural expressions in value an respecting and
valuing the others as we find meeting points which encourage our European sense of belonging.
SOCIAL INCLUSION (Gender equality / equal opportunities): It develops the students critical
thinking towards the inherited gender stereotypes and the need to break them.
WIA project will include actions that help address diversity and promote –in particular through
innovative and integrated approaches– ownership of shared values, gender equality, nondiscrimination
and social inclusion through education, fostering the development of social, civic and
intercultural competences. It will promote students critical thinking in order to tackle discrimination.

PROMOTING THE ACQUISITION OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

It will improve the teacher and students skills and competencies.
Teachers will improve their technological and pedagogical competencies as well as their content
knowledge on the field; The exchange of instructional innovations and practices in art education will
help teachers to apply new methods and techniques, widening the cultural reference in the art field,
and broadening the diversity of art techniques commonly used in primary education. As a
consequence students will benefit from this skills and competencies acquisitions. Teacher and
students will improve their competence in communication in a foreign language and the digital
competence will be improved as the project will be developed in English and using IT tools. It has
never ever been so important to work in an international way in education to engage new generations
in the creation of a future for all and created by all. That is why the promotion of youth engagement
will be an important objective of the students' meetings. Activities will be set to make young people
be involved in responsible, challenging actions, planning and making decisions that will affect the
creation of a positive social change, gender equality.

WIA project contains 3 different and interrelated blocks of activities (long-term project, training
meeting and students mobility). They deal with common objectives which derive from the general aim
of introducing women European art in early education.

LONG-TERM PROJECT

- To get early education pupils to know about European female artists and to broaden their art
techniques knowledge implementing them: Students will work on European female artists,
experimenting new techniques, like weaving or engraving. They will get to know the importance of
these artists in the European art history and how they struggled to be part of the art world in their
time.
- To elaborate resources: A material will be created in order to facilitate other primary teachers the
introduction of female artists in the primary art classes. The dissemination of this material will be a
key task as there is not an easy access to primary art lessons based on women artists.

TRAINING MEETING OBJECTIVES

- To learn and share knowledge about women in art and European female artists. Visits to museums,
galleries, and Fine Arts Universities will provide the participants with a wider knowledge of the
project content.
- To plan, organize and schedule the project. Meetings will take place in order to work on the
schedule, to outline the management plan, the evaluation tools, define the students' mobilities,
etc...Besides, teachers will collaboratively design the outcome of the long-term project.
- To expand our knowledge about pedagogic methods. Teachers will attend workshops and be part
of different experiences in schools where these methodologies are implemented.
- To broaden knowledge and strengthen skills in art techniques in Primary Education.
- To create an environment in which teachers from different schools can share their ideas and
discuss the same aspects. Teachers from other organizations and from different subjects will be
invited to the discussions, enriching the project and giving a different view on the topic.

STUDENTS MOBILITY OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

- To experiment different art techniques; Students will attend some workshops in order to experience
different art techniques. Visits to the Fine Arts University, local art ateliers,...
- To learn about women in art and local female artists; Meetings will be arranged with women whose
professional careers have a relationship with art, from an artist to university professors, gallerists,
curators...
- To enjoy and value other students’ art productions. The students' activities done throughout the
long-term project will be exhibited at different country schools and some actions will be held in order
to collect the exhibition visitors impressions to give feedback to the authors.
- To develop a youth engagement attitude: Students will be engaged in a local female artist
promotion action. The action will be proposed by the country of venue and students will plan and
develop it, with the help of the teachers.