Under the Covid-19 pandemic, inequalities have led to a different impact on women and men, including an increase in violence against women (VAW). Gender equality is a necessary condition to achieve growth and social cohesion and a key element in the prevention of VAW. As gender is socially constructed and art is the expression of the society it is embedded in, if looked from a gender perspective, it becomes self-explanatory that, too often, art has contributed to the crystallisation and reproduction of gender stereotypes and unequal relations between men and women. For the same reason, art has an intrinsic power to rewrite the collective perception of men’s and women’s roles, striving for more equality, equity and inclusion. Based on this rationale, REGENERART aims to promote art and creativity as innovative tools to increase the competences of secondary school teachers and students to re-think gender roles and stereotypes towards a more equal and inclusive society, free of gender-based violence (GBV) and discriminations. To reach this objective, the project foresees the development of the following Intellectual Outputs: - IO1, an e-learning course to increase teachers’ competences of using art to promote gender equity and equality, recognise and prevent violence against women - IO2, a Manifesto for a new gender-sensitive art - IO3, the REGENERART online exhibition space for the promotion of a new gender-sensitive art - IO4, the REGENERART Textbook. Looking at Art from a gender perspective Activities will be carried out by partners in a collaborative and participatory way. Partner schools’ teachers will undertake the e-learning course and will implement, as a pilot test, educational activities based on the material included therein. During an online workshop, students will be engaged with artists in the writing process leading to the development of the Manifesto. These groups will work together also in the production of new artworks to be exposed in the REGENERART online exhibition space. The e-learning course will be promoted among other schools beyond the partnership, too, in order to support its exploitation. Artists within and outside the partnership will be involved in project activities, also thanks to a contest that will be launched to promote the production of new gender-sensitive art. The project aims to involve participants both inside and outside the partnership: at least 100 teachers undertaking the e-learning course, 2.000 students participating in REGENERART educational activities, 25 artists collaborating in activities with students, 100 entries submitted by students and artists from all over Europe for the contest. The main result of the project is the development of an innovative and creative educational approach for the promotion of gender equality and protection from GBV. Students, teachers and artists will become more aware of how gender stereotypes are reproduced, also through art, pushing them to take action to re-model gender roles and power relations in a creative way. Thanks to the REGENERART approach, art becomes a disruptive tool for target groups to read the reality, enhance the critical thinking of young generations and promote the development of skills towards social inclusion and justice. Finally, artists will have new tools to present themselves as educators and activists, possibly resulting in more employability opportunities and visibility of their work. The project will provide new tools to promote quality education. It will contribute also to push forward the agenda on gender equality and prevention of GBV. The cross-fertilisation of sectors will improve the capacity of participants to always include more perspectives when looking at specific issues, supporting their readiness by being open-minded, curious and forward-looking. REGENERART aims to have an impact on other stakeholders outside the partnership, too. Other schools, even at different levels, could be inspired by the innovative approach to deal with art and gender issues; museums, cultural associations, artistic movements and collectives could become more aware of the need of applying a gender perspective to art or could undertake educational activities with other audiences using the same approach; the academia’s and pedagogues’ research on innovative educational practices can be enhanced by the results of the project; policy and decision-makers, both those involved in the promotion of gender equality and prevention of GBV and those focusing on education, will have at hand new tools to improve the quality, relevance and effectiveness of their actions. Finally, in the long-term, society at large will benefit from more equal relations between women and men, free from GBV.
The overall objective of the project is to promote art and creativity as innovative tools to increase the competences of secondary school teachers and students to re-think gender roles and stereotypes towards a more equal and inclusive society, free of GBV and discriminations. Specific objectives included: - Foster the understanding of how gender is constructed and gender stereotypes are reproduced in society, eventually justifying GBV - Increase the knowledge of how art has shaped gender roles and how it can foster gender equality - Increase the awareness on the potential of art education as a means to improve quality education and reinforce young students’ interest for social issues - Prevent violence against women at all ages trough awareness on different forms of GBV of teacher, students and all stakeholders involved - Empower young girls and boys by enhancing their critical thinking when it comes to analyse social and cultural challenges - Enhance the competence of artists to use art as an educational tool, increasing their opportunities for employability and civic engagement - Promote new gender-sensitive art in the EU
COVID-19 exacerbated inequalities and situations of violence against women and girls. Gender-based violence against women (GBVAW) is a phenomenon deeply rooted in our society and it is cross-cultural, cross-generational and transnational. GBVAW builds on gender stereotypes that create power inequalities between men and women, boys and girls. Gender is socially constructed, influenced by culture, customs, education. Art is the expression of society and has contributed to the shaping and reproduction of gender roles. For the same reason, art has an intrinsic power to rewrite the collective perception of men’s and women’s relationships. High schools are a crucial place where future generations shape their identities. However, teachers often lack the skills and knowledge to address sensitive issues such as gender stereotyping or GBVAW, and art could be a non-threatening entry point to tackle them by building inclusive educational curricula and innovative and creative tools.