Visual Arts

Visual literacy is a characteristic all human beings inherently possess. Yet because of our cultural and social differences, we interpret visual symbols and representations, such as drawings, pictures, and artefacts, in different ways. How and why people use visual images to represent complex ideas and processes is the focus of How People use Pictures. It is the first comprehensive review of the literature on visual literacy in over a decade, and offers new insights into this complicated issue. Written for practitioners interested in communicating with local people using pictures and visual symbols and for researchers interested in gaining a deeper appreciation of the 'language of the visual' , this book provides detailed annotations of over 100 key references, as well as an extensive list of useful institutions and resources. This book was reprinted in 1997 and contains a new forward written by Bob Linney, outlining recent developments in visual literacy

An arts and mental health initiative, Berkshire and Oxfordshire 2001-2003maps aims to change lives and overcome isolation by placing people with mental health needs at the heart of the community.The video documents key features of the programme, including:• A mentoring scheme supporting the personal and professional development of emerging artists with mental health histories.• Interviews with artists, health professionals, project participants, mentors and mentees.• Participatory arts projects in day centres.• Festivals celebrating the performing arts• Visual arts exhibitions

A collection of case studies and a general discussion of the role of art in the lives of disadvantaged youth, also arguing for the powerfulness of the participants work.

A follow up to the 'Risking Art - Art For Survival' publication, focusing on the work of the Artful Dodgers Studio in Australia, dealing with marginalised and disadvantaged youth and what the studio has offered them in developmental and creative terms.

The Culture and Development Development Topic group on the World Bank-supported Development Gateway Internet information and discussion service has been joined by a new one on E-Commerce in relation to the cultural industries: E-Commerce for Arts & Crafts. This already has almost 100 resources.

This new initiative envisions a website full of creative responses for healing and reconciliation. It is a project of Herm Weaver and John Paul Lederach. Herm is a roofer, a psychology professor, and always a singer/songwriter. John Paul is a mediator, a professor, and always a storyteller. Both work on the question of reconciliation and healing, and believe there is great potential for nurturing these processes through songs and stories. The site features the Dream the Light CD, a song and story in response to September 11, books, videos and other resources.

Teaching Tools aims to help students understand some of the complex processes that lead to violence and conflict which in turn cause refugees to flee from their homes and from their countries of origin; Cultivate attitudes that lead to a preference for constructive, active and non-violent resolution of conflict; Help students develop the personal and social skills necessary to live in harmony with others and to behave in positive and caring ways that respect basic human rights. The units and their lessons are arranged in subject categories (history, geography, civic education, language/literature, and art), and are designed for three age groups (9-11, 12-14 and 15-18). Each unit comes with a unit plan that shows the teacher at a glance the sequence of the lessons, their objectives, content, the teaching method/learning strategies involved, and the related resources which are available on this website, as well as further suggested readings for the teacher. Although the lessons are arranged in units, some lessons stand on their own, and thus could be taught without their partner lessons. The lesson plans are not prescriptive, but provide interested teachers starting points for lesson preparation. Teachers will need to integrate these ideas into their own programmes or schemes of work. Two of the resources packs in the series deal secifically with creative activities. ART : Refugees contribute to the culture of their host community. Some are well-known artists, painters, poets or novelists. Dante Alighieri created the major part of his work during his exile. Playwright Bertold Brecht, authors Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, poets Pablo Neruda and Jorge Semprun, musician Miguel Angel Estrellas, painters Lucian Freud and Remedios Varo -- all suffered periods of exile which, in some cases, deeply colored their work. The theme of exile can be studied in literature, the history of music and art. LANGUAGE & LITERATURE : Refugees contribute to the culture of their host community. Some are well-known artists, painters, poets or novelists. Dante Alighieri created the major part of his work during his exile. Playwright Bertold Brecht, authors Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, poets Pablo Neruda and Jorge Semprun, musician Miguel Angel Estrellas, painters Lucian Freud and Remedios Varo -- all suffered periods of exile which, in some cases, deeply colored their work. The theme of exile can be studied in literature, the history of music and art. Texts addressing refugee issues can also be used in language courses.

A series of three facilitator packs in storytelling, Art and Facilitation.

This title is designed for people who want to make and use pictures for development. It provides guidelines to enable non-artists to make their own visual aids such as discussion starters, picture cards, flannel boards and community maps. It includes sections on: common pictorial conventions; how to draw and use colour; how to copy and adapt pictures; how to make and use a range of people-centred visual aids; and how to plan and conduct workshops on visual communication. The book looks at ways in which visual aids have been designed and used in the past, and shows how the authoritarian approach to communication has failed to promote a more equal distribution of power among people. The author proposes a different approach to work with educational visual aids - a "people-centred" approach - which goes beyond mere participation towards fuller involvement of local people in their own development. The traditional perspective of research studies of visual literacy among non-literate people is shown to be essentially neo-colonial. In this text, by contrast, visual literacy is viewed as a skill that is easy to acquire, rather than as a handicap to overcome by outsider professionals trying to develop a top-down "pictorial language".

Syllabi, modules and curricula developed by PETA facilitators after decades of experience in teaching children's theater. series include the following modules: Creative Drama for Children, Creative Writing for Children, Visual Arts for Children, Creative Sound and Music for Children, Creative Body Movement for Children, Creative Education for Children.