Join us for a trip of different cultures and countries of Europe!

We have one world, which yet looks a bit different and is thought of differently in any given place on Earth. We want to tell you about it and listen to your thoughts on it. We are convinced that it is worth exploring what is different from us and from what we are used to.

We will discover what values are important to people living in other European countries, what they wear, what animals they see every day, and what they believe in. We will consider whether, although so much different from us in many ways, they are at the same time similar.

We will visit Albania, Spain, Iceland, Kosovo, and Sweden. Each day we will find a given country on the map, listen to and watch a presentation about its culture and its people, listen to the language spoken there and learn a few words in that language.  We will also discuss the customs of the country in question. The journey through each country will be complemented by artistic activities. Each day we will create a different work of art inspired by the information acquired.

Agenda:

1st day – Albania

Identifying Albania on the map, a presentation and a debate on the local culture, tradition and customs. An encounter with the Albanian language and learning a few words. Hand-painted bowls are very popular in Albanian folk tradition. During the workshop, the participants will paint their bowls using Albanian folk designs (technique: painting on wood). The breaks will be filled with games and activities.

2nd day – Spain

Identifying Spain on the map, a presentation and a debate on the local culture, tradition and customs. An encounter with the Spanish language and learning a few words. The fan called an abanico is a major element of the culture of Spain, especially of the flamenco. During the workshop, the participants will make and decorate their paper fans. The breaks will be filled with games and activities.

3rd day – Iceland

Identifying Iceland on the map, a presentation and a debate on the local culture, tradition and customs. An encounter with the Icelandic language and learning a few words. Glaciers are a major element of the beautiful if austere landscape of Iceland. During the workshop, the participants will make their own glacier of salt mass. Icelandic glaciers will inspire a conversation about the climate crisis and stimulate empathy and imagination, which can become a remedy for this crisis. The breaks will be filled with games and activities.

4th day – Kosovo

Identifying Kosovo on the map, a presentation and a debate on the local culture, tradition and customs. An encounter with the language used in Kosovo, which will offer a chance to revise the vocabulary learned on the first day, as the language used in Kosovo is Albanian, too. The art we will do will be inspired by the NEWBORN monument erected by Fisnik Ismaili in the capital city of Kosovo, Pristina. NEWBORN was unveiled in 2008 to mark the Kosovar declaration of independence. During the workshop, the participants will make their own sculpture and possibly afford a new meaning to the monument, altered – updated year by year due to the events happening across the globe. The breaks will be filled with games and activities.

5th day – Sweden

Identifying Sweden on the map, a presentation and a debate on the local culture, tradition and customs. An encounter with the Swedish language. In Sweden, Children's Day is celebrated differently than in Poland. It also takes place on a completely different date, 20 November, the anniversary of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. And it is the Declaration of the Rights of the Child that will inspire our artwork, i.e. a large-sized, collectively-made cartoon Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The breaks will be filled with games and activities.

30 June – 04 July 2025, 9 am – 12 noon

moderators: Julia Szmyt, Marianna Piskorz

registration: joanna.tekla@arsenal.art.pl