PULSE-ART will increase cultural awareness and expression in education through art

The European project PULSE-ART, which aims to transform education through the arts to promote cultural awareness and expression, was launched yesterday in Barcelona. Coordinated by Science For Change and co-coordinated by the Scientific Culture Unit (UCC+i) of ISGlobal, it aims to demonstrate how the use of the arts in education can become a key driver for cultural development in communities across Europe.

A European Call for Cultural Action 

“At a time when Europe and the world are facing challenges related to the loss of cultural components due to the adoption of rigid identities, PULSE-ART project responds to an urgent need: to revitalise the values of mutual respect and appreciation for cultural diversity based on and giving value to the work of the cultural industry,” explains Isidora Fernández, coordinator of PULSE-ART and arts and science specialist at SFC.

This innovative project aims to identify gaps and barriers in education systems to integrate art as a tool to promote cultural awareness, to test new methodologies in seven case studies in Europe and Morocco, in collaboration with cultural and creative industries, and to develop action plans and national action and policy recommendations based on concrete evidence on the impact of art in education.

Arts as a Catalyst for Change

The project is supported by an international consortium that includes research centres, universities, foundations, a small and medium-sized company and a museum, who will contribute their complementary knowledge and skills to ensure sustainable impact. “Together we will work to generate tangible evidence, replicable tools and products, and educational materials, that promote the sustainability of the use of art in education,” says Rosa Arias, CEO of SFC and part of the PULSE-ART coordination team.

“In addition, the Observatory of Arts in Education for Cultural Awareness will be created, which will integrate a set of tools for the professional development of educational training through the arts. These tools will be validated through seven case studies in different countries using different artistic techniques. For example, in the Spanish pilot project, scientific illustration and drawing will be worked on, coordinated by the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) of Madrid, in collaboration with Illustraciencia, an entity specialised in this discipline. Other artistic disciplines will also be worked on, such as dance (Latvia), game jams (Malta), video games (France), performing arts (Netherlands), visual arts and technology (Greece) and traditional music (Morocco)”, concludes Raül Toran, head of the Science Culture Unit (UCC+i) at ISGlobal and part of the PULSE-ART team.