Organization
ABC (ART BASICS for CHILDREN) is a non-profit organisation located in Brussels. Operating on the border of the arts and education, it is a labo for aesthetic experiences and creative awareness.
We create stimulating environments and projects that encourage children and adults of all ages to experiment with their imagination and to explore their creative potential. Interactive working-stations are equipped with selected books (in different languages), visuals and specific research and playing materials. The well-defined settings of these ‘working-stations’ enable small groups of visitors to explore and investigate at ease and in confidence. Supporting ABC-guides encourage the creative process as an opening for dialogue and as a reflective tool so participants can develop independently their own way of integrating art in the daily life.
ABC has a permanent home-base near the Brussels North Station. Schoolclasses, students, teachers, families, field-workers and professionals can consult our open source-collection and can discover different studios, several ateliers, a kitchen, a movement & meditation-space, a little theatre, a garden, a classroom of the future…
Contact:
E: mail@abc-web.be, T: 02.5020027
Project
Objectives:
In general: The Visual literacy/Transbook mobile studio is a way for ABC to collaborate with children, attendants and cultural sector workers to establish an experience-oriented investigation into the best ideas related to visual literacy (interaction between word and image), the fun of language & the art of storytelling.
ABC will then compile these experiences into a digital resource of tips and suggestions that can be used by (future) teachers, librarians, youth workers, parents etc. This project is based in the hope that education and youth work can engage in creative and artistic ways of dealing with language and visual culture in a more structural way. In an age when we are overwhelmed by visual stimuli, both digital and print, this is not an unnecessary luxury.
Concretely: Sensitization/Awareness-raising/Stimulation/ Enjoyment/Amazement
Target Audiences:
Families: for children 5 years old and above and their parents/grandparents
Schools: for all classes of primary and secondary school
Mediators such as (future) teachers/attendants of youth studios/librarians
Students of graphic design/illustration
Illustrators/authors of children’s books (who can also give their own workshop in the ABC studio)
Formula/set design:
The ABC crew can construct the mobile studio (minimum 120 m2) in one day.
ABC will bring the necessary and pre-constructed furniture.
Training:
Course for and exchange with attendants
An ABC head guide provides a two-day training course for local attendants (in English, French or German): i.e. introductions to all the different materials and the innumerable possibilities of how to engage children with them. An exchange of ideas regarding the content is one of the main objectives.
Please find more about the project in the appendix.