The idea behind the project is to support equal opportunities in the making and experiencing of art as well as in joint activities, and to create a sense of togetherness especially amongst those who need special support, but also other citizens. We support this grassroots activity by helping to develop the know-how of outsider and ITE i.e. self-taught artists, through promoting international interactions, good practices and the sharing of knowledge. The project’s target group consists of the personnel of the organisations involved in the collaboration network, employees who are in charge of pedagogy, creative methods, crowd engagement, artwork creation and development, as well as some invited artists representing the art scene. Those invited to join the network from the outsider-scene will be actors who work to further these goals in their own environments, and who are interested in international collaborations. All those participating in the project have a lot of desirable practices, operating models and know-how, which all further their target groups’ involvement by opening opportunities in surrounding communities and the larger society. The project will be executed virtually. There will be four themed webinars taking place every six months throughout the project, tentatively on 6.5.2021, 11.11.2021, 5.5.2022 and 10.11.2022. The webinars will help with becoming mutually acquainted, and function as a platform for sharing practices and knowledge. In between the webinars the collaboration will continue in other electronic and remote working conditions. The project will aim to offer the Outsider and ITE art scene artists the chance to get to know one another, and to develop their abilities as users of e.g. pedagogic and creative methods. The aim is also to get to know the organisational methods and procedures more deeply, as well as advance practical know-how, its sharing and also potential extended development together. Strengthening the participants’ skills will also help forward practical knowledge to citizens, those in need of special support, as well as to self-taught artists, to increase their opportunities. The project will also aim to build and strengthen Outsider and ITE art scene’s international network to enable practical achievements.
The main objective of the project was exchange of good practices. We wanted to give the actors in the Outsider and ITE art field a possibility and floor for presentations of the organisations, discussions and sharing information under jointly decided themes and a room for exchange of experiences, pedagogical views, good practices and ideas for the specialists of different sectors on the field. We did this by co-creating a form of webinar as means of exchange and building the network by inviting the participants. Our aim was also to build and strengthen the international network for cooperation to enhance visibility and different forms of presenting Outsider and ITE art e.g. in the upcoming European Capital of Culture projects. We wanted to support the contacts and networking during the pandemia.
The Outsider and ITE art organisations work with different sectors, e.g. art studios with persons who need special support, museums with collections and exhibitions of Outsider and ITE art, audience work including workshops and other activities and raising awareness of Outsider and ITE art. There is a lot of skill, experience and knowledge in the different organisations working in Outsider and ITE art field, but not many possibilities to get together and share it – and the pandemic made it even more problematic. We did apply for the project, because we wanted to give the participants possibilities to get to know one another and enhance the exchange of experiences, knowledge and good practices in the different sectors, especially during the times of pandemic, when other (face-to-face) connections were very limited. The field was not very active in using web-based meetings for sharing information and knowledge earlier, so we wanted to present a virtual tool and a form of webinar for contacts and exchange especially during COVID times. There was also a need of building and strengthening Outsider and ITE art scene’s international network to enable practical achievements.