Active Art Space

General information

• Title of the good practice (main title and subtitle, if applicable): Active Art Space
  • Name of the implementing organization/community: Alternatíva Association
    • Organization address: 6724 Szeged, Jakab Lajos u. 7.
    • Contact information (email, phone number): alternativa.egyesulet1993@gmail.com , +36305583946
    • Project and/or organization website: https://mediakommando.hu/
    • Social media contact:

https://www.facebook.com/alternativaszeged

• Contact details – contact person( s ), project manager, coordinator :

Alexandra Faragó, alternativa.egyesulet1993@gmail.com, +36204555646

Presentation of good practice

A regional-level program that has been implemented in several regions. The locations are typically public, easily accessible outdoor areas (e.g. playgrounds, parks).

The goal is to encourage and activate young people to move, combining this with contemporary, artistic (especially street art) elements. Furthermore, in addition to promoting a healthy lifestyle, the program also includes a community experience and the joy of creation.

The essence of the program is an outdoor, team-based competition that combines movement, skill and intellectual tasks with the art of street art. Teams of 4–5 people follow a thematically designed route, at different stations, where they create a unique, joint work using paint. During the event, young performers will also perform on a podium, ensuring a connection to the art scene. At the end of the program, the teams’ works will be exhibited. The best teams will receive awards.

It is spectacular, relationship-building, artistic, spontaneous and yet not. It brings young people together for a joint creation, but since it is implemented in a public space – usually a playground – all age groups can be involved and the program can be of wide interest, so it is suitable for building bridges between generations. We timed the event for the European Week of Sport and built it thematically around it. In this way, we also woven Europeanism into it with tasks related to the EU magnetic wall , for example , so that participants can encounter knowledge and spirituality related to Europe in a completely spontaneous situation . Each event contains unique elements every time, and the tasks and tools of the competition change every year depending on the creativity and capacities of the volunteer staff conducting it. In addition, the program, despite the fact that it requires a lot of “trash” tools and gives the experience of freedom of creation, always places great emphasis on not damaging the environment. We leave the public space/playground available to us as clean as we found it. We methodologically structure both the contest and the creation so that the avoidance of littering and environmental pollution is integrated into the action and does not cause any limitations for the participants in their creation, but rather provides ideas for environmentally conscious thinking, for example, the vast majority of the tools and installations are made through recycling.

We cooperate with educational institutions (mainly high schools, but also an elementary school in the neighborhood of the implementation site), as well as with entrepreneurs who provide supporting tools, other civil organizations, and informal groups, and with partial financial support from the city government. The program can be themed , varied, and easily adapted. This also broadens the possibilities for cooperation. We linked it to the European Week of Sport, but this can be varied. The tasks to be performed in the competition also change from year to year, as the tasks and the self- made tools necessary for their implementation are created together in the preparation phase with the involvement of the young members of the current implementation team.

The program is implemented in cooperation with educational institutions (mainly secondary schools and a local primary school), supporting entrepreneurs, civil society organizations and informal groups. The local government provides partial financial support.

The results of the program were presented on the official platforms of the supporting municipality, in the local press, as well as on our own social media channels and in a newspaper produced by our youth media workshop. Photo and video documentation was made to help with follow-up communication and future promotion.

Adaptability

For the program to function effectively, it is essential to involve a motivated, large team of volunteers. The implementing organization must take into account local needs and opportunities – such as the nature of outdoor spaces, the available partner institutions and the interests of young people. Creative design of tasks tailored to the target group is key to success. An important lesson learned during the implementation was that environmental awareness should not only be an expectation, but also an integral part of the program, thereby setting an example for young people.

Location