Play, drama, visual arts, storytelling

REGION: South
MUNICIPALITY: Esbjerg
PROCEDURE: 2022
DAY OFFER: Darum Børnehus

Template - overview of the PlayArt process

Institution: Darum Børnehus

Period: Dec 2021-March 2022

Leader: Hanne Friisgaard

Artist: Marianne Bitch Thomsen

Type of art: Visual arts

Kick-off meeting: Dec 2021

SNUDE

- How have you experienced the co-creation between artist/cultural educator/cultural school teacher, educators and children and possibly researcher?

There has been good interaction between all the participants. There has been a good partnership between artist, educator and PA student, where both parties have been enterprising and "jumped" on whatever arose.

Educator and PA student can work with the art without the participation of the artist. From the outside it may look a bit messy, but the process is under control.

Something has been framed in which the children themselves can help to decide and shape what will happen.

- How have children's perspectives been expressed/included?

Some frameworks are set e.g. For example, the book is determined by the adults, but when the book is the focal point, the children are involved in choosing games, activities, etc.

In the latest project, the toothbrushes were created in the mold, but how they were then shaped and created was completely individual based on how the child wanted it (i.e. 15 different ones.)

In our Pippi program, the children themselves created the obstacle course that we had to move on, and here the children constantly developed the course according to what they thought was missing.

- Do children play different games and with different people than usual?

The answer was promptly yes and no, the group of children is a group that plays well with everyone and therefore it can be difficult to know if it is because of one thing or another they play, however, a special game around the garbage monster arose when working with this.

- How do pedagogical staff act differently than they did before PlayArt?

We have started to think differently - new "doors" have opened, where inspiration can be approached in many different ways than usual. We started it all by taking a book as a starting point, and the book was then to be drawn out into reality, this was a completely new way of approaching a book. It became an exciting start to our course where a book and its story starts each course, but ends with very different activities whether it is movements, visual arts, etc.

- What has it been like to work with action learning?

It is very similar to what we already do, but the source of inspiration is different and helps to change our approach to new projects.

- To the artist/cultural mediator/cultural school teacher, if present: What have you gained from participating in PlayArt?

It has been successful, the ideas have grown in the process and we are learning along the way.

It has been difficult to let go of the process.

What has been most successful is what has been productless.

Important to feel it is not a task you are given.

- What are the pedagogical staff still/now curious about?

We are curious to know how we can keep the atmosphere that we have when we have play art, and continue to be that inspiration.

We will try to see if we can also challenge the process we have created and keep finding the time needed to achieve this.

We are also curious how we can better work with smaller or larger groups of children as focused as the groups we have created for play art.

- How will you use art, culture and aesthetic processes in the further process?

We will work with it inside and outside, and we will use it in the upcoming projects that we will have in the kindergarten and in the Children's Village across ages, years, etc.

- What points for attention should we take forward?

The artist has been really good at "sticking" his finger in the ground to find the best to work with and from, and has been really good at collaborating. It is important to be aware that the already established routines may have to be shifted a little.

It is important that it is a priority that you want to work on the different projects and that you commit yourself wholeheartedly to it.

Openness and a positive attitude also help.

It has been great that the parents have supported the Play Art by, among other things, coming with the children early. In the future, we must remember to prepare the parents that old clothes that can withstand paint, glue etc. are used for the projects.

The parents have seemed enthusiastic about our participation in Play Art.

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