WeAllArt is a project about art and health. It is the result of a collaborative relationship among four European schools with specialisms in art for students aged 16-18. The project aims to improve the digital skills in ICT, applied to contemporary art media, to foster competence in a foreign language, to strengthen the relationship with industry, and to promote healthier lifestyles in their communities. These objectives are linked to the similar needs identified by the four partner schools: low entrepreneurial drive and uncertainty about future labour options among students, the necessity of stronger relationships between schools and social entities in their communities, and the scarce participation of youth in local cultural organisations and community centres. The main target participants are students of art, in an average number of 100 pupils, although the project also focuses on former students, organisations in the field of health social work, art and other entities in the community. Emphasis of activities is placed on the improvement of ICT and digital skills, and competences in foreign languages through the students' research on contemporary art media regarding health in a broad sense, their collaborative work with students of other countries, and the implementation of art projects. Workshops on contemporary art media, entrepreneurship in art, and health in the local communities are included too. Four short-term exchanges of pupils are programmed for the implementation of the art projects, the understanding of the communities of the other schools, and the organisation of showcase events in community centres. Methodology focuses on promotion of creativity, personal initiative, teamwork and entrepreneurial skills. Methodology founded upon Project Based Learning will contribute to develop the planned activities: (1) challenging the students to identify an idea; (2) promoting decision-making capacities, communication skills and students’ autonomy; (3) facilitating the understanding of new concepts from more global standpoints and connections with other fields of knowledge; (4) stimulating self-confidence, achievement motivation, personal initiative and risk-taking. It is expected that during and after the project the schools will benefit from other partners' strengths (like better ways to connect the school with industry, or expertise on ICT and new art media or European programmes), and will integrate innovative pedagogies in an increasing number of subjects in schools. Desired impacts on teachers include fostering their skills and competences in teaching art subjects with a deeper impact of ICT in their activities; facilitating innovative forms of pedagogical practice in the classroom, like Project Based Learning; and including social awareness and engagement in their practice. It is also expected that students acquire a broader spectrum of their labour and study outlets after school; get a deeper sense of social responsiveness; improve their ICT and digital skills, and competences in a foreign language; and, finally, obtain higher motivation to pursue their studies and engage more actively in their learning process.
WeAllArt is the result of shared needs in the partner schools: to generate resources and materials to promote health at schools, with activities targeting this issue in a conventional way, regarding healthy lifestyles, as well as in connection with emotional health. This approach comes from surveys and the experience provided by the counselling and social work departments. According to that, students' healthy lifestyles are determined by psychological wellbeing, which require mentoring at this stage of human development. The project goals consider also the potential of creativity of art students, as a resource to generate materials and healthy initiatives, like campaigns and art-connected activities among younger students. Apart from that, the project also sought to enhance basic skills in ICT, its appropriate use and responsibility and application in art projects, to improve all competences in a foreign language (English), to link students at schools with art and health-related professions in the job market, and, finally, to encourage our students in becoming promoters of health in their local communities through entities working in this field. Directly involved students in this project are around 100 students, aged between 16 and 18. However, all students at the partner schools were targeted by the project, through activities like workshops at schools (food education, healthy lifestyles, prevention of substance abuse, emotional expression in group activities, etc. The learning and teaching activities implemented during the exchange meetings included the intervention through art projects at schools (a report of each art project is available from the project blogs, translated into the five working languages: English, Spanish, Bulgarian, Croatian and Latvian). all projects were planned using the Project Based Learning methodology with collaboration on the Twinspace forums. Other activities included workshops with health professionals and art therapists. All the experiences have contributed to generate resources that are now available to replicate this issue at schools. The materials are at the disposal of teachers in all the partner schools in their own language. Thus, further work will be possible according to the initial goals.