URB_ART Storybook

The newest publication, URB_ART Storybook, presents twenty stories from urban artists and practitioners of Urban Arts Education working in Iceland, Austria, Great Britain, Portugal, and Slovenia. In an attractive and engaging way, the compendium displays practical knowledge and recommendations for using art education as a tool to reach out to and include the marginalized in our communities. 

The digital publication is available on the project website in Icelandic, English, German, Slovenian, and Portuguese. 61 pages are organized into nine chapters, with a special focus on each of the participating countries. The authors selected twenty stories from local artists and art educators. 

Iceland is represented by Hrefna Lind Lárusdóttir, Margrét M. Norðdahl, Ewa Marcinek, Juan Camilo Roman Estrada, and Michelle Bird, artists and educators living in Reykjavík and Borgarfjörður, who artistically collaborate with marginalized adults. From art classes in Litla-Hraun prison, and creative writing sessions for Polish women who experienced violence, to creating safe and encoring art spaces for those with cognitive disabilities, outsiders, and newcomers. Iceland has a lot to offer to the marginalised, yet the publication lists also the challenges of inclusive art opportunities: the language barriers, low funding, and lack of support structures for independent art educators.  

URB_ART project is thriving. The partners have recently met in Lisbon for a week of educational training and discussions about the next tasks in the project: preparing a training package for art educators, tool-kit videos promoting the urban arts, and a policy paper with recommendations for decision-makers in the field of culture, education, and social affairs. These are the steps planned until February 2023 when the URB_ART project will be concluded at a partner's meeting during a European symposium in Vienna.