About the project
Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through transformative learning within community-based art, or HEART (Heritage Art) for short, is a European cooperation partnership co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ Programme.
As part of the project, five partner organisations from across Europe developed and tested a fresh model for teaching intangible cultural heritage (ICH), with the aim of producing new tools and resources for adult educators. The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2003, underlines the invaluable role of intangible cultural heritage in bringing human beings closer together and ensuring exchange and understanding among them, while maintaining cultural diversity and richness in the world.
ICH can be a fruitful starting point for a transformative learning process and for reflecting on one’s experiences, thoughts, feelings and assumptions about identity, culture and cultural diversity. Reflecting on the meaning of ICH for individuals, communities and organisations is also important to keep heritage living, lively and meaningful for present generations and for future generations, too. Intangible cultural heritage is also linked to the environmental, social and economic realities of communities.
The project sought to explore these themes and situate them in a community-based art education context. A key part of the project work process saw pilot studies taking place in four European countries, where an art educator worked with local community members and heritage practitioners. Through the pilot group work process, the project partners were able to develop and test a new way of engaging with cultural heritage using communal art education methods, underpinned by the principles of transformative learning. The pilot groups also explored the use and meaning of dialogue within a transformative, art-based learning process.
The main project outcome is a digital toolkit for art educators, to facilitate working with heritage topics, incorporating digital technologies, and leading a transformative learning process. The toolkit is aimed at educators, facilitators, and anyone wishing to work with intangible cultural heritage. It includes:
- A clear, concise and accessible discussion of the theoretical basis for the educational methodology;
- Teaching resources and practical guides;
- Illustrative examples from the work of the project pilot groups.
It was also hoped that the pilot groups would themselves serve as valuable interventions in the regions in which they took place, increasing engagement with valuable aspects of ICH and empowering educators and learners on the ground. The reported experience of the participants and educators involved suggests this may have been the case.
The HEART project officially commenced in December 2022, and held its first transnational meeting in Oulu, Finland in February 2023. Pilot studies took place in the latter half of 2023 while analysis of the results and preparation of the digital toolkit began in January 2024. The project outcomes will be published and disseminated during the rest of 2024.