Scientists from the University of Lodz organise joint events in cooperation with Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, Academy of Music in Lodz, universities of the third age, Museum of the City of Lodz and specialists from municipal and provincial cultural institutions.
This broad cooperation with institutions from the world of culture and education is another piece of evidence of involvement of the University of Lodz in the social and cultural life of the city and the region.
The main objective of the whole project is to familiarise recipients with difficult access to education, culture and art with art and artistic work using modern educational models. This group is represented by, among others, individuals with visual and hearing impairment, frequently elderly people or those coming from little towns.
Thanks to the activating classes, participants acquire competences that in the future will allow them to independently develop their skills related to art and gain knowledge in accordance with the ideas of "lifelong learning" - also after the end of the project.
- These meetings are not only about learning, but they are also about play. We put emphasis on integration and active involvement of the students. This is also the purpose of visits in museums, culture centres or experiments in laboratories of the university – says prof. Aneta Pawłowska from the Institute of the History of Art, UL.
- Moreover, conducting classes in the field of art, which are supplemented with workshop elements, provides a possibility to have direct contact with art. Such activities have a therapeutic and revalidation dimension, i.e., restoring as much efficiency as possible. Both young people with disabilities and seniors suffering from various age-related dysfunctions and illnesses, enjoy their own creativity - adds prof. Pawłowska.
Both groups also get familiar with new forms of using the cultural offer of various institutions – forms that do not exclude them due to their perceptual difficulties. Additionally, activities carried out during the project, including trips around the Lodz Region, are also an important contribution to activities for social and intergenerational integration. This is one of the solutions to the problem of the atomized society of the 21st century.
Transition to online system – forced by the pandemic – turned out to be a challenge, but also a chance to take additional steps, which previously were not included in the project.
- Online activities helped not only to distribute knowledge about art of the Lodz Region but also to support, among others psychological care for the elderly and children "imprisoned" at home. Thanks to posting materials on the Moodle UL remote platform, the participants can follow activities of the project on an ongoing basis throughout its duration, regardless of their place of stay – explains prof. Pawłowska.
The following institutions have already joined the project: School and Education Center for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Aphasia Children in Lodz, Primary School No. 168 in Lodz, Major Hieronim Baranowski Special School and Educational Center No. 6 in Lodz, Polish Association of the Blind Lodz - Górna Circle, Polish Association of the Blind in Sieradz, Nursing Home in Przatowek, Nursing Home in Wronikow, Senior-WIGOR Daily Home in Tuszyn.
Apart from prof. Pawłowska, the following members of the UL community are involved in the works under the project: mgr Paulina Długosz – deputy project manager, University of Lodz/Museum of the City of Lodz; mgr Magdalena Milerowska, dr Agnieszka Gralińska-Toborek, dr Daria Rutkowska-Siuda, mgr Adam Drozdowski.
The project "Art of Lodz against the European art. Excluded / Included" started in February 2020 and has been in progress for almost 2 years now. The project is realized thanks to the funds from the European Social Fund under the Knowledge Education Development Operational Programme entitled “Third Mission of Universities”; competition no. POWR.03.01.00-IP.08-00-3MU/18.
University of Lodz is one of the biggest universities in Poland. Its mission is to educate top-class scientists and specialists in numerous fields of humanities, social sciences, natural and exact sciences as well as health sciences. UniLodz cooperates with business, both at the staff level by providing qualified employees as well as at the scientific level, by offering its know-how to enterprises from various areas of economy. University of Lodz is an academic institution open to the world – the number of its international students is constantly growing, while its Polish students, thanks to Exchange programmes, get to know Europe, Asia and travel overseas. The University is a part of Lodz, it operates for and with the community of Lodz by getting involved in many socio-cultural projects.
Source: prof. Aneta Pawłowska, Faculty of Philosophy and History, UL
Edit: Promotion Centre, UL