Expressive Arts for marginalised communities

Aims of the tool

The aim of the POIESIS Replication Toolkit is to provide accessible, practical resources that enable other organisations and cultural practitioners to replicate and adapt the project’s participatory Expressive Arts methodology in their own communities.

Description of the tool

POIESIS: Expressive Arts for Youths is an Erasmus+ learning and creative development project coordinated by IRARU. It uses expressive arts -including visual arts, music, movement, poetry, theatre, and other creative practices - as a way for young people with fewer opportunities to explore their creativity, express themselves, connect with others, and strengthen their emotional well-being.

The approach is based on learning through creative practice: participants are encouraged to experiment, create, reflect, and collaborate rather than focus only on achieving a predefined artistic result. Through participatory workshops and expressive arts activities, POIESIS creates safe spaces where young people can explore personal experiences, develop new perspectives, and build connections within their communities.

The project also develops a methodology, facilitator training, pilot workshops, and replication resources so that other organisations, artists, youth workers, and cultural practitioners can apply the approach with young people in different contexts.

By using the POIESIS Toolkit, users will be able to:

-Understand the principles and potential of expressive arts as a tool for youth work, inclusion, and well-being.
-Plan and facilitate creative activities using different expressive arts approaches.
-Create safe, inclusive, and supportive spaces where young people can express themselves freely.
-Adapt activities to the needs, interests, abilities, and cultural contexts of different groups of young people.
-Use creative methods to encourage self-expression, participation, communication, and connection.
-Support young people in exploring emotions, experiences, and ideas through artistic and creative practices.
-Facilitate reflection and dialogue before, during, and after creative activities.
-Encourage participation from young people with fewer opportunities and reduce barriers to engagement.
-Combine different artistic forms and methods to create meaningful and accessible learning experiences.
-Reflect on and evaluate their own facilitation practice and the impact of creative activities.
-Apply the POIESIS methodology in different youth work, educational, cultural, and community settings.