PRESS RELEASE
Yellow Living Room gets up close to local cultural activities when Denmark's largest single children's cultural project 'LegeKunst' rolls out in 18 municipalities. The development centre Kulturprinsen in Viborg has received DKK 25 million from the Nordea Foundation to bring the youngest children closer to culture and to research what meeting art and culture in everyday life means for children and for their education. At the same time, close cooperation with educational institutions will enable new educators to play in entirely new ways.
With a total project framework of DKK 70 million and with DKK 25 million in support from the Nordea Foundation, Kulturprinsen, the Development Centre for Children's and Youth Culture in Viborg, can now launch LegeKunst, which over the next four years will engage 20,000 children in day care, nursery and kindergarten, over 1,000 educational staff, more than 8,000 student teachers, hundreds of artists and up to 50 cultural institutions across the country.
In LegeKunst, daycare workers, nursery and kindergarten teachers, researchers and teacher training institutions will work together to promote the play and creativity of the youngest children.
"The world looks so different to children than it does to us adults. With curiosity, sensory perception, play and the courage to fail and try again - this is exactly how children approach the world. With LegeKunst, we want to show how art and cultural activities in new, interdisciplinary collaborations can make a very special difference in everyday life with the very youngest children in daycare, nursery and kindergarten," says Ulla Voss Gjesing, Center Manager at Kulturprinsen, who is delighted about the Nordea Foundation's major support for LegeKunst.
An everyday boost for 0-6 year olds across the country
Once upon a time, art was often the icing on the cake: the artist came with his backpack full of exciting ideas and activities, and everyone joined in and had a wonderful experience, but the backpack left the institution, along with the artist - and everyday life continued as usual. Now art and culture will become the bread and butter of everyday life! LegeKunst also brings in the artist and the backpack, but ensures that the backpack with all its exciting ideas and activities stays in everyday life, changes everyday life and lives on through the renewed commitment and playful approach of the educators and the children.
"With LegeKunst, Kulturprinsen is looking forward to meeting the broad demand from educators for new skills in how to open up co-creative and cultural activities with children. At the same time, with a practice-oriented research component in LegeKunst, we can disseminate knowledge about how collaboration between artist, educator and researcher can provide a framework for children's play, well-being and education," Ulla Voss Gjesing explains.
DKK 500 million a year for the good life
Every year, the Nordea Foundation allocates DKK 500 million to projects that promote good health, exercise, nature and culture. For the years 2019-2021, the Nordea Foundation has chosen to focus on 0-6 year olds under the focus area 'More children who flourish':
"With LegeKunst, thousands of children will experience even more play, creativity and culture in their daycare. This is a big and ambitious national effort that will certainly make more children flourish," says Henrik Lehmann Andersen, Director of the Nordea Foundation. Over the next three years, the fund will focus on supporting initiatives targeting 0-6 year olds. "A large part of a person's personality, skills and habits are formed from the time we are children, which is why early, targeted interventions are important to support when you have a mission like ours to promote good lives," says Henrik Lehmann Andersen.
Nationwide research to create new knowledge about children's encounter with art and culture
Knowledge is needed about children's play and how play promotes children's education. Play will contribute new and much-needed knowledge through seven research projects. Research coordinator Lars Geer Hammershøj, associate professor at DPU, Aarhus University, says:
"The research part is intended to strengthen the practical part of the project by creating knowledge about how play and education are promoted through children's encounter with art and culture. In addition, we see a strong need to develop a common language of play and education that educators and other professional adults can use to share experiences and reflect on their own pedagogical practice."
Cooperation with municipalities and teacher training ensures the future of LegeKunst
What is new in LegeKunst is co-creation - art, like play, is investigative, and together we explore how educators, artists, researchers and children can get the most out of encounters with each other, art and culture.
The 18 participating municipalities' benefit from PlayArt is anchored and future-proofed in each municipality through two functions: a lead manager and a PlayArt supervisor, working closely with five PlayArt coordinators employed at teacher training colleges in all regions. The teacher training colleges' strong commitment to LegeKunst will benefit teacher trainees in both theory and practice - so future children in day care will also benefit from newly qualified teachers with more art, culture and play experience in their backpacks.
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FACTS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
FACTS about LegeKunst
LegeKunst will officially start on 15 May 2019, and the first children are expected to meet LegeKunst in their daycare during autumn 2019.
Read the pixibook about LegeKunst
Read more about LegeKunst on the Kulturprinsens website
Download photos from Kulturprinsens previous day care projects
Contact
Kulturprinsen:
Head of Centre Ulla Voss Gjesing
uvg@kulturprinsen.dk / 21 29 19 01
Nordea Fund:
Head of Communications Tine Wickers
tw@nordeafonden.dk / 28 40 84 80
Closest partners
DPU - Danish Pedagogical University
University of Applied Sciences UCN
UCL Business School and University of Applied Sciences
