The project brings together three European Union countries - Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania. The idea for a mutual project was created in cooperation with the State Cultural Institute Cultural Centre "Dvoreca" (DKI KC "Dvoreca") in Balchik, Bulgaria. Thanks to its contacts, we have gained other prestigious institutions such as the National Archaeological Institute with the Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAN) in Sofia, Bulgaria and the Museum of Visual Arts (MAV) in Galati, Romania. DKI KC "Dvoreca" in Balchik, as a cultural institution, deals with the preservation and promotion of the European cultural heritage, NAIM-BAN in Sofia has a rich collection of Greek, Roman and Thracian artefacts and also has experts in technology and materials used in ancient societies. MAV in Galati owns a unique collection of modern art and its curators are experts in contemporary art materials. Secondary Art Glass school, Valašské Meziříčí teaches its students to use a variety of materials in their own works and educates them in the fields of culture and art. Through the interconnection of all involved institutions, main priorities of the project, which are - the social and educational value of the European cultural heritage and the deepening and strengthening of key competences in vocational training, will be fulfilled. The project will also strengthen the development and cooperation among cultural and artistic institutions in the frame of EU. 18 participants will be involved in the project – 2 teachers and 10 students from Secondary Art Glass School. The two teachers will lead the project and at the same time they will be accompanying persons and mentors of the students. The students will be selected from the 2nd year of all graduation courses of the school. Each partner will choose 2 experts, who will lead the individual project activities in particular countries. During the project four international educational activities will take place in four work venues. The first activity will take place at NAIM-BAN, Sofia, BG and will be dedicated to ancient materials and technologies. The second activity is scheduled in MAV, Galati, RO and will focus on modern materials and approaches in artistic works. The next activity will be focused on preservation, restoration and promotion of cultural heritage and will be held at DKI KC "Dvoreca", Balchik, BG. The last activity will be held at Secondary Art Glass School, Valašské Meziříčí, the Czech Republic, where the results of previous activities will be presented at a final conference. This conference will have impact not only on the project participants, but also on all teachers and students of the school, on the professional and wide public. The impact of the project is mainly seen in bringing together experts from different types of cultural institutions, teachers and students from three European Union countries, who together will learn about their cultures, cultural heritage and different approaches to artistic work in their countries and the use of diverse materials in art. We expect students to improve learning outcomes, to develop their personality and to be motivated for lifelong learning, and also to strengthen their professional competencies. The added value and long-term benefits of the project are seen in the creation of study materials that will be available for other art schools and for the public on the created website of the project. This will ensure the sustainability of the project after its completion.
The project "From Ancient to Modern times - Materials, Technologies and the Preservation of Cultural Heritage" was approved in 2018. It was planned for 2 years. Due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 disease and pandemic measures, it was extended and completed on 31 October 2021. The total duration of the project was 35 months instead of 24 months. Secondary Art Glass school - Valašské Meziříčí (SUPŠ sklářská VM) has been cooperating in Erasmus+ projects with the Cultural Institute „ Dvoreca“ Balchik (DKI KC "Dvoreca"), Bulgaria for a long time. Thanks to this cooperation, the idea for this project was born and we established contacts with two other organizations that were interested in cooperation with us and liked the concept of the project. We got important partners in Bulgaria, namely the Archaeological Institute and Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAN) and the Museum of Modern Art (MAV) in Galati, Romania. The partner organisations have thus contributed to the fulfilment of the planned objectives of the project. Each of the partners covered the period in which they specialise. The partner organisations involved two adult participants each, who formed a working team and implemented the project together. Two teachers specialising in languages and vocational subjects were involved in the project for the SUPŠ sklářská VM. NAIM-BAN nominated two archaeologists who lead archaeological teams and carry out research, a curator and an art historian as well as the director of the museum were involved in the project from MAV. DKI KC "Dvoreca" was represented by the director of the organisation and experts in the preservation and restoration of cultural monuments. In the project we set seven goals, which we managed to fulfil thanks to good cooperation. We focused on the development and further deepening of cooperation between art institutions in the European Union, the promotion of valuable art collections, familiarization with museum work, the transfer of experience from experts to project participants, to the educational programs of the school and back from participants to experts, increasing the professional competences of students and teachers, communication skills in a foreign language and increasing the prestige of institutions. During the project we held two international project meetings (M1 and M2) and a total of seven international training activities. These were three combined VET pupil mobility activities (C1, C2, C3) and four short-term joint staff training activities (C4, C5, C6, C7). The training activities were linked in programme and content and were attended jointly by pupils of the SUPŠ sklářská VM and representatives of the partners´ organisations. Activities C1 and C5 took place at NAIM-BAN, Sofia, Bulgaria. We focused on materials and technological processes from the ancient and medieval periods and, thanks to the participation of active archaeologists, we were able to investigate and work directly with archaeological finds. 10 pupils and 8 adult participants took part in the lectures and workshops. The second block of educational activities was prepared by MAV, Galati, Romania - C2 and C6. The programme focused on 20th and 21st century modern art and the use of new and traditional materials and technological processes not only by artists but also in art school settings. The activities were attended by 12 pupils and 8 adult participants. After an unplanned hiatus caused by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and a pandemic situation that made travel impossible, we had to reschedule the planned educational activities. Finally, we manage to organise and realise the last activitivitis. The C3 and C7 training activities took place at the DKI KC "Dvoreca", Balchik, Bulgaria. They focused on the preservation of cultural heritage, the work of restorers and the use of IT technologies. The activities were attended by 11 pupils and 8 adult participants. Together with our partners, we agreed that one of the biggest impacts of the project was, that it gave the participants the opportunity to learn about disciplines such as archaeology, museum studies and curating, and so broaden their career posibilities. Gaining new contacts, successful teamwork is a good basis for further projects within the EU and beyond.