Culturespaces Foundation: Immersive Art

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
NGO Name: Culturespaces Foundation  -  Location: France

THE CHALLENGE

Art en immersion is deployed in territories where there are deep inequalities, whereas access to culture from the earliest age is fundamental to the development and construction of the child. In this sense, access to Artistic and Cultural Education is a powerful factor for equal opportunities: it allows the development of a sensitive view of the world, but also the development of emotional and non-cognitive skills such as imagination, critical thinking, listening skills, self-esteem... all skills that can be reinvested in the school and individual path, in support of the teaching of the fundamentals.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Immersive Art aims to promote access to Artistic and Cultural Education for 7,000 children aged 5 to 12 who are hospitalized, have disabilities, or are in a precarious social situation. Immersive Art is a multi-stage program that allows children to discover the world of an artist in a playful way, create a close relationship with his or her work, and awaken their creativity through artistic practice. Within the framework of this program, children participate in several sessions: educational and creative workshops led either by our mediators during the extracurricular time, or by teachers during school time; a visit to an immersive digital art center.

In their own words

Ninety-eight percent of the students in our classes do not know what a museum or a painting is. They live in such precarious conditions that access to culture is not a family priority. Most of the families live below the poverty line and their financial participation in school outings is therefore excluded. This is why it seemed essential to us to apply for the project proposed by the Culturespaces Foundation. The opportunity we were given allowed our students to discover the art of painting, painter's profession, artist's work, the choices of representations specific to artists, the mode of pictorial expression...
Thanks to the very high-quality reproductions sent to us by the foundation, the students' reactions were enthusiastic and filled with wonder. Our students were extremely touched by the beauty of the paintings, by the "emotional" representation of nature.

Teacher at the Édouard Vaillant school in Marseille (classified as REP+) - class of CP (6-7 years old).