The project "The arts, federating European unity" is an opportunity to link the national heritages of the participating countries to the European artistic movements, highlighting the ideas behind this artistic creation. The aim is to gradually build up in pupils the idea that Art is a bearer of meaning, values and a European identity. The idea is therefore to associate each artistic expression, proposed by the different schools, with European values. Starting with concrete objects or shows for the pupils, we must, over time, move towards a philosophical dimension by showing the ideas carried by each artistic expression. Art, through its evolutions, makes it possible to show the progressive construction of the European idea. To do this, each partner will have to organise the activities around the artistic field they have chosen. Together, the partners will show how, through the example of Art, differences have enabled the construction of Europe. The aim is to show that the dissemination of the different national arts has influenced the other countries and created European unity. It is this unity that will be highlighted through literature, sculpture, painting, crafts... This work will be carried out, over a period of two years, in close collaboration with cultural (museums, theatres) and political (cities, departments, regions) territorial partners. The objective of each school will be to make a synthesis, within the framework of the artistic field it has chosen, of the continuities, the diffusion and the influences of its artistic field. This synthesis will be achieved thanks to the work sent by the different partners and thanks to digital contacts (eTwinning, videoconferences, audio contacts, emails...) between the pupils. The syntheses, built using different media (videos, photos, texts...), will all be gathered on an interactive digital platform that will evolve over the months. Thus, apart from the mobility of pupils, everyone will be able to refer to this platform, enrich it and make it known within the school, to partners and to the population. At the same time, the feeling of belonging to the European Union will be symbolically consolidated by the development of a logo, a symbol of unity through the arts. Mobilities will be organised around an artistic field, taken up by each participating country, and developed according to various common European artistic periods. At the end of each mobility, the pupils will report on their stay with the help of their logbook, which will take the form of notes and photographs, and will be the subject of a photo-report. These elements will serve as an outline for the final project for the realisation of the volume model of a "Europe House for All", which will be made up of various architectural elements specific to each of the participating countries. Photomontages will be made in which a landscape or view of a city will appear, consisting of parts of views taken in different places during each of the pupils' trips to the various participating countries. The interest of this project will be to highlight the importance of Art in the union of the different European countries, while expressing national and even regional differences. The involvement of pupils, future European citizens, as well as the dissemination in schools for other pupils, the commitment of parents, associations and leaders of regional or national institutions, will be the guarantee of a dissemination of the feeling of belonging to European citizenship. The sustainability of the project through exhibitions and presentations will contribute to this feeling. The visual work of the pupils (photo-reportage, volume realisations, putting into practice knowledge and know-how...) and its dissemination are the guarantee of its impact.
The project "The Arts, Federating European Unity" was an opportunity to link the national heritages of the participating countries to European artistic movements, highlighting the ideas behind this artistic creation. The aim was to gradually build up in pupils the concept that Art is a bearer of meaning, values, and a European identity. The idea therefore enabled to associate each artistic expression, proposed by the different schools, with European values. Starting with concrete objects, shows and practical workshops for the pupils, Art made it possible to show the progressive construction of the European idea. To do so, each partner organised activities around the artistic field they had chosen: literature, sculpture, painting, arts and crafts, and photography. Those activities were shared between the various partners during physical or virtual exchanges. Those exchanges permitted to unite students around common European values. This work was carried out in close collaboration with local cultural partners such as museums and theatres with the support of political partners. The sanitary context due to the Covid-19 crisis and the various restrictions which the partners had to deal with for the past two years did not permit to develop the project as much as we had planned to. Some mobilities had to be cancelled and some partners were not able to do all or part of these mobilities. Exchanges by videoconference during artistic workshops or museum tours were set up. These exchanges made it possible to write magazines, but also to produce artistic creations based on a common experience. These productions were also presented in the partner schools so as to reinforce the feeling of belonging to the EU among all students. Besides all these activities, the feeling of belonging to the European Union was symbolically backed up by the creation of a logo – a symbol of unity through the Arts. Moreover a film, “Europe House for All” was made from the photos and extracts from some of the works and activities organised by the partners during the length of the project. The mobilities were organised around an artistic field, taken up by each participating country, and developed according to various common European artistic periods. At the end of each mobility, the students reported on their stay in their logbooks, which they made public in their schools. That visibility permitted to make the project known to a larger audience. A photomontage was made in which all the workshops and mobilities made during the project are presented. This project highlights the significance of Art in the union of the different European countries, while expressing national and even regional differences. The involvement of students, despite the complicated context due to Covid-19, has allowed to make a feeling of belonging to the European citizenship emerge. Exhibits and presentations participated in developing that feeling within the various schools.