VIA-VIDA at Schmiede 08



VIA-VIDA at Schmeide 08
The Project’s name VIA-VIDA originates from Latin meaning: Way With Life. Simultaneously, VIA stands for Values, Identity, Art revealing the quality of the project being a way to life through art.

IAE Intercultural Art Education:

This is an extension of Intercultural Art Education that was piloted in Vienna from Jan 2008-June 08:

The project is linked in with and based on Luksuz connection that is a group of Film and Media Literacy projects for Young People across Europe.

Mission Statement
This project is allowing teenagers to create their own narratives, based on their interests, instead of self-imposed trends that are set-up for “Yooofff”-this kind of ‘dumbing-down’ for teenagers is patronising and negates their responsibility causing either aggression, hyperactivity and/or irresponsibility which often leads into adult life. So, this project is intervening at a crucial age in order to awaken freedom through wise choices and responsibilities. Art Education is the driving force to enable this.
VIA-VIDA is part of Schmeide 08. It is an intergenerational project working with artists in their 20's-early 30's. These artists are heterogeneous coming from different parts of the world. Students will have chance to interact with these artists (who are working with several different art forms such as music, film, dance, painting, design) the students film will encompass these interactions. The project is not only intercultural in approach, but also innovative, as the artists will develop didactic skills making a symbiosis with Artists and Education that co-insides with the aims of the 'Year of Innovation’ emerging in 2009.

Ten teenage students from a Gymnasium in Salzburg, with the help of two mentors: Delphine Mae and Jessica White, will be introduced to the language of Film. They will learn how to develop from idea to final video. Furthermore, they will be shown how they have opportunity to represent themselves, beyond two-dimensional representations of youth that have previously been pervasive within media. They will be addressing core values of life and society in contemporary times and how they see themselves growing up within this landscape. They will have the opportunity to find deeper values beyond mindless consumerism, whilst still being aware of this is the dominant environment that they are growing up within.

They will make one or two films broadly around the concepts of VIA- VIDA. That are: Identity, Storytelling, Community, Diversity Ethnicity, Gender Relations, Integration, Territoriality, Values. Taking these concepts students will collaboratively refine specific topics under the rubric of these themes.

Why are we doing this project?
We want the next generation know how to be human with each other again. By increasing intercultural dialogue through innovative art practice it is possible to reduce sentiments of alienation and apartness from each other. It is important to recognize that feelings of being threatened are from each other, from all sides. To feel safe, to gain peace with each other, it is essential to increase information flow through boundaries so that we can develop a positive vision of where we might head to in the future. We can do this by utilising the emotive power art to express ideas and effect perception.

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