Creating a mask as a symbolic object of celebration

On October 22 and 23, Escola El Viver in Montcada i Reixac hosted the artistic workshop “Com ho celebrem: una exploració ‘emmascarada’” (“How We Celebrate: A ‘Masked’ Exploration”), led by Jenna Nilson from the University of Warwick (UK), within the framework of the PLURART pilot action developed by the project partners from the GREIP research group at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Over two sessions, Jenna worked with pupils and teachers on an activity centred on creating a mask as a symbolic object of celebration. The workshop invited children to explore how languages and identities intertwine in the ways we celebrate and express ourselves, connecting their favourite celebrations with their cultural and linguistic repertoires. Through the process of mask-making, the students engaged creatively with cooperation, diversity, and plurilingual expression.

Throughout the workshop, the children showed great curiosity and engagement, while the teachers highlighted the value of such experiences for fostering inclusion, creativity, and personal expression in the classroom.

This activity was one of the first training and collaborative actions of the PLURART pilot, which aims to enable participants to gain voice and agency in their educational processes through the arts, to value their repertoires and life experiences, and to develop critical and creative thinking in order to promote educational inclusion and engagement.

The ALPHABETICA project will continue developing new initiatives that promote arts-based language education, strengthening the ties between research, teaching practice, and the educational community.