Within the framework of the “Scenes for young art talents” project, since the beginning of June, 4 art workshops have been formed and operate according to specific thematic programs in the 4 target settlements of the project – the city of Botevgrad, the city of Kardjali, the city of Dolna Banya and the village of Mirkovo, commune. Mirkovo with a total of 40 participants – children and young people aged 12-18 years:
- Art workshop “Visual arts and street art” in the town of Kardzhali;
- Art workshop “Music and traditions” in the village of Mirkovo;
- Art workshop “Applied Arts: Wood Carving” in Dolna Banya;
- Art workshop “Inspiring dances” in Botevgrad.
The action regulation has a total duration of 6 project months for each workshop. 75% of the participants in the art workshops are representatives of the Roma ethnic community, 25% are not representatives of minority groups.
The preparatory and logistical activities included the choice and selection of participants (conducting interviews, consultation with teachers and parents), and in two of the groups the number of participants exceeded 10 people, due to strong interest and motivation to be together with the other girls and boys. Premises are provided in which classes are held twice a week for 2 hours.
A series of preliminary meetings between the mentors at the local level and the expert team of the project were needed to clarify the programs, the goals of the trainings, the need for innovative approaches, game models, application of techniques and models from other arts, collective analyzes of achieved results. The Project Concept for discovering, developing and “promoting” young artistic / performing talents from various ethnic and cultural minority groups (with a focus on Roma) was discussed with the mentors, which is a basic document for achieving project goals. Of particular interest and benefit to all was the analytical conversation published as a brochure between the managing director of the Norwegian partner organization Kiril Kutin and the expert “Artistic activities” Radost Nikolaeva about the goals and tools of the project, as well as about Norwegian good practices: “We need a fair and an open environment where all young people have equal access to development opportunities’. For all art mentors and members of the project team who do not have the opportunity to attend online the Workshop held in stage 1 of the project with the participation of the Norwegian partner on 01.07.23, receive in printed form the brochure in which the experience of the Norwegian partner for : discovering and working with young talents in the field of performing arts; the specifics of creative interaction with representatives of minorities; successful models for communicating with audiences and attracting new audiences, etc.
In the thematic program of each of the art workshops, participation in the original “outsourced” form of training and outdoor work within the Plein air of the arts in August 2023 is foreseen – in two consecutive one-week sessions in the village of Dazhdovnitsa, commune. Kardzhali, which is a specific ethnic village with a population of 150 ethnic Turks.
For all art workshops, the necessary materials, tools and clothing have been provided so far. For the Art Workshop “Visual Arts and Street Art” these are: materials for drawing with pencil and watercolor, textile paints, materials for graphics, illustration and advertising design, as well as for street art: C200 glues, modeling pastes, oil pastels, oil paints , sets of acrylic paints /24 colors/, drawing markers /sets of 10 colors/, watercolor pencils /12 colors/, drawing pens, micro corrugated cardboard, corrugated cardboard, drawing brushes, white and black foam board, metal pins/clips, cardboard colored, white paper, rice semi-transparent tracing paper, colored rice paper, kraft sketchbooks A4, mukava, galvanized wire, textile paints, textile materials for drawing. In the Art Workshop “Music and Tradition” in the village of Mirkovo, the training is carried out according to the American training program – Essential Elements 2000. A real result of the training is achieved around the sixth month by reaching exercise No. 58 from the Essential Elements 2000 textbook. rent wind instruments, depending on the needs of the participants in the group. For the Art Workshop “Applied Arts: Wood Carving” in Dolna Banya, wood (alder, linden, poplar) is provided, basic chisels for wood carving, sharpening sets and sandpaper, varnishes, pastes, brushes, solvents, saw, carving knives, washers of wood for decoration. For the Art Workshop “Inspiring Dances” in Botevgrad, suitable clothes for training were purchased – leggings, t-shirts and tracksuits.