Artistic Afternoons

With the ongoing pandemic, opportunities to socialize in person are limited. However, the children of Albisola have found a safe place to have fun together, called the “Centro Ragazzi”.

It is located in Albisola Superiore and welcomes children between ages from 6 to 14; they are offered an after-school service where they can prepare their homework with the help of European Volunteers, coordinated by the manager Renata, but this is not the only activity available. In fact, young people find here numerous ways to have fun, like playing soccer, basketball, reading, drawing, playing video games etc.

In these two weeks, thanks to the contribution of European Volunteers, they had the opportunity to introduce two other activities: drawing of murals and guitar lessons.

The artistic side of the children:

As the previous murals were fading and there was space for new designs, the boys have decided to modernize the walls with their own artwork.

This is a playful activity that allows children to develop their creativity, which is essential for cognitive development and the expression of emotions, moods and thoughts. At the same time, they learn the importance of sharing spaces, materials and ideas.

Before starting the work, each child was provided with a hood and essential tools for painting. During the preparation phase, the boys erased several old and worn murals, deciding to preserve two very significant ones designed by Amelie Rieck, a German volunteer from 2016.

One of these drawings represent a Viking, which symbolizes the myth of strength, to which boys are often attracted to, which, on the other hand, can be very dangerous, too. The other drawing is about an astronaut, the emblem of the discovery of new unknown worlds and of the confidence in the scientific abilities of the human being.

The idea behind this new project was to represent diversity in order to raise awareness of the heterogeneity of the world in the minds of children.

Guitar lessons:

With the arrival of the new Spanish Volunteer, Alvaro, guitar lessons were introduced, welcomed with great joy by all the little ones.

During these lessons, the kids who have a guitar are free to take it with them, while those who do not have it can use Alvaro’s guitar.

Thanks to this musical instrument, the new generations have the opportunity to achieve goals such as coordination and concentration in a pleasant way, and they can also learn new ways of expressing their emotions.

To make the work more usable for beginners, Alvaro has created a document in which the parts of the guitar and the basics of music are illustrated: what are the melodies, the tones, the notes, the chords, the rhythm, available below.

In conclusion, the youth center offers a multitude of opportunities for interactional and emotional growth. In short, it offers a community within which one can evolve.

Greetings,

Paz, a Spanish volunteer from Progetto Città.

Corso di chitarra (2).pdf

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