ODISSEIA is a non-profit association. Was created in December of 1998.
Main goals of our organization are:

* promotion of non-formal education, education through art and pedagogy of artistic expressions
* international co-operation among youngsters
* youth initiatives supporting and active civic attitudes building
* promotion of cultural diversity

Our activities are designed for all local public, specifically for children and youngsters.
Activities are divided for four main categories:

1. psico-pedagogical projects
2. training courses
3. cultural initiatives
4. publications

Main methodology of our work is education through art.

Contact:
Associação Odisseia
Rua Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage nº45
2955-207 Pinhal Novo
Portugal
aodisseia@gmail.com
telm. (00351)917527839


Travel to the Center of the Land

This is an interdisciplinary and multidimensional exploration of identity, which integrates area of culture, education and art. The project propose a new vision of local heritage, public art and collective memory as a continuatuion of personal identity. The main goal is to develop collective consciousness of habitat and interiorization of simbolic cultural language through the direct contact, experimantation, artistic expressions and group dinamics. And finaly, to make connections between nature and culture, personal histories and collective memory.




The project took place in Secondary School of Pinhal Novo, in March-April of 2009.
Participants: socio-cultural animation class
Special thanks for prof. Florbela Simões
Orientation: Aleksandra Chomicz

INTERCULTURAL COLLABORATION

Main goals:
  • multicultural interaction and exchange
  • promotion of artistic expressions
  • development of European/universal identity
  • intercultural learning
  • promotion of universal human values like tolerance, human rights, citizenship and sustainability
Realization:

"Alladin"/ Slovenia, Malta, Spain, Irland, Sweden, Portugal/ July of 2006

"The role of ethnic dance and local heritage to provide the peace and cultural interaction:" Turkey, Portugal/ March of 2007 ( project had as it main tool a dance to promote the interaction between participants. It was a way to promote identity, tolerance, diversity, creativity, cooperation, peace, individual and collective self-esteem. For the final performance for local public we created the new form of contemporaneous communication made with elements of traditional falk dances of two countries)

"Things don't change. You change the way of looking at it, that's it": Italy, Poland, Chec Republic, Portugal/ July of 2008 (The participants experienced Theatre (drama workshops), dance (Tango) and Aikido (marcial art). A final presentation was prepared, mixing all the experiences and the local hab itants whore invited to assist as a public.)



WITHOUT BORDERS: ART AND SCIENCE

[orig. tittle: Sem Fronteiras: Arte e Ciência]

Let's try to pass bo
rders between cities, between us, between our habits and representations, between past and future. Let's try to pass borders between art and science, knowledge and emotion, body and mind, reality and imagination. Let's try to build the most beautiful creation becoming from our desires, hopefulness, hankerings and expressions. Discover art and science inside us and project it into the future.

Main goal
s:
  • social integration
  • prevention of risky, anti-social behaviors
  • supporting of self-esteem, development of self-consciousness and self-knowledge
  • development of personal and social competences
Orientation: António Xavier, Paulo Proença, Aleksandra Chomicz Realization: August 2006: Santa Casa da Misericórdia .... + Project integrated in program "Sem Fronteiras" of Instituto Português da Juventude.

Training course: INTRODUCTION TO PEDAGOGY OF EDUCATION THROUGH ART

[orig. tittle: INTRODUÇÃO À PEDAGOGIA DA EDUCAÇÃO PELA ARTE]

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, C
REATIVITY AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS

1. public: psychologists, educators, professors, students
2. duration: 12 hours


This course has at its main goal to complete and bring to the fore the knowledge and competences on area of pedagogy of education through art.
The sessions are organized as the theoretic-practical expositions and empiric experiences giving a priority for personal creativity and interaction between various artistic expressions.
Every participant can achieve the knowledge about programs and projects which make part of actual pedagogy of artistic expressions and transfer it for persona
l experience and educational needs in individual professional context.

Program:
1. Introduction to the psychopedagogical bases of the learning processes
2. Artistic (plastic, dramatic, poetic) expressions in process of human development
2. From the expression to the creation- definition and interpretation of main terms and concepts
3. Brief history of education through art: ideological bases.
4. "Art discovers the child, child discovers the Art"- analogies between the modern art and the infantile artistic expression
5. Discussing good educational practices and experiencing the methodology
6. Reflexion and conclusion

Trainers: António Xavier and Aleksandra Chomicz



FROM THE POETRY OF PERCEPTION TO THE POETRY OF CREATION

[orig. tittle: DA POÉTICA DO OLHAR À POÉTICA DO CRIAR]

1. Pedagogical base: objects of artistic creation
2. Main methodology: education through art, 1º Olhar

3. Duration: 3-10 hours

4. Public: without specification

This is a meeting with the special artist. Becoming from perception of our eyes and cognitive representation we try to discover his personal word, identify main characteristics of his artistic technique and enter to the specific language of plastic art. In process of creation and through various forms of personal and collective expressions start a dialog between our inside and his word.
The methodology of this project is based on Program 1 Olhar developed by Fundacao Gulbenkian and Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Argumentation and comparation, discussion and empirical experimentation are the main tasks of educational process.


Orientation: António Xavier, Aleksandra Chomicz, Paulo Proença

Realisation:
Exposition of
Kim Prisu, Festival Cão Amarelo 2007.
Working groups:
ATL Caixa de Pandora, Jardim Infantil, students of EB 2+3 Pinhal Novo, Teatro Brinca, students of Escola Secundária Pinhal Novo.



Project with adults (Cão Amarelo 2007):