Partners gather in Ibi, Spain, for second transnational meeting

All five partner organisations were represented at the second transnational meeting, which took place in Ibi, Spain between 19th-21st May 2023. This meeting was hosted by Blue Beehive, who are based in Ibi. This meeting focused on the work of the pilot groups, giving each partner organisation a chance to introduce their art educators. The art educators were familiarized with the concepts of the project including the main themes of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Community Arts Education and Transformative Learning. Staff and art educators worked together on planning the pilot groups, through in-person discussions, group activities and brainstorming.

We were offered a taste of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ibi, including a tour of the Paola Reina doll factory in Onil and a practical ceramics workshop. We also enjoyed sampling some typical Spanish foods.

Each art educator presented a taster of their own art field, including traditional Romanian furniture painting, Irish traditional music, dancing and hiking from Ibi, and Finnish poetry. This was invaluable in planning the process and structure of the five pilot programmes, as well as building a common understanding of evaluation and outcomes. Other practical sessions covered devices and methods for building the digital toolkit, including 360 degree cameras, 3D scanning, and working with virtual and augmented reality through free and accessible apps.

Over the coming months we will continue to meet online as the individual pilot programmes commence and progress. Our next transnational meeting will take place in Romania in February 2024, and will examine the outcomes of the pilots, focusing on how to build the digital toolkit.