PARTNERS
FUNARTE
? O H W
FUNARTE is a non-profit, non-governmental
organisation that works for social change and to improve educational quality for the benefit of Nicaraguan children and young people. FUNARTE’s aim is to promote and facilitate children’s development through creative activities.
WHERE? Esteli Nicaragua
During the revolution in Nicaragua many artists were active as political muralists. When democracy was restored after the revolution a group of artists continued to paint about rights education and literacy. They decided to train children and young people in mural painting so that they could express their opinions and have a voice. FUNARTE was founded in 1987 in Managua. It subsequently moved to Estelí where support was found in the community of Barrio Oscar Gamez and FUNARTE began holding mural painting workshops every Saturday. As well as the staff, FUNARTE relies on volunteers to develop its program. Many of the children and young people who progress through the workshops and develop their artistic skills eventually learn to become facilitators of workshops themselves. FUNARTE has a number of international exchanges with arts organizations in different countries through which international artists work with FUNARTE in delivering workshops and exchanging skills.
FUNARTE is based in the city of Estelí in the north of Nicaragua. It is a mountainous region about one and a half hours from the capital Managua. Estelí is a city of about 119,000 people. FUNARTE work mainly in the barrios or communities surrounding the city centre.
FUNARTE works with children, teenagers and young people including young people in prisons, young people affected by child labour, exploitation and various forms of disadvantage. They also work with parents, community leaders, teachers, educators and community leaders.
WHAT?
FUNARTE runs a number of programs that aim to develop personal and creative capacities of children, young people and
the community. These programs include: Art workshops: FUNARTE hold free art workshops every Saturday between February and November. Children from the community and other neighboring communities can develop their artistic skills through an open curriculum to become mural artists themselves. Murals/Public Art: The girls, boys and young people over 10 years of age that have participated in the Saturday workshops paint a mural at the end of every term. Each of these murals reflect a theme that has been elaborated and worked on collectively during the whole term. Exhibitions: Occasionally FUNARTE exhibits art created by the children, young people, teachers and parents in schools, preschools, cultural centres, libraries, city halls and for government delegations. Other activities include teacher training, family and community leader training workshops, festivals, discussion forums, awareness campaigns, exchange programs, historical, cultural and ecological tours, internal training and participation in local and national organisations and commissions. For more information see: www.funarte.org.ni Photos: This page shows children at work in the Saturdays workshops in Esteli. Credits: FUNARTE.
PARTNERS
FUNARTE
HOW? METHODOLOGY
The methods that FUNARTE use in their work with young people are based on years of working with community leaders and representatives. In the workshops with children story-telling is used to inspire the imaginations of the young people before they are instructed in the use of colour and how to compose an image. FUNARTE operates a system of peer education. Young people that have attended the community-based workshops and have gained mural-painting skills become youth leaders or “representantes”. Representantes teach other young people what they know and speak on behalf of FUNARTE to the public and media. In 2007 a group of Irish young people learned mural painting from a group of representantes during a training that took place in Estelí. For more on this project click here.. (http://www.mayfieldarts.org/old_site/2007_mural.htm)
WHY?
BACKGROUND
Nicaragua has had a troubled political and economic past. The Samoza dictatorship ruled the country between 1936 and 1979 monopolizing power, land and wealth. All forms of political activities and dissent were brutally oppressed. The majority of Nicaraguans lived in extreme poverty, subsisting on the production of corn and coffee. There were huge deficits in literacy, education, health care, human rights and health care. During the 1980’s a movement known as the Sandinistas led a revolution against the dictatorship which was brutally oppressed by a force known as the Contra’s, funded and trained by the USA. Thousands of people were tortured, disappeared and murdered during the revolution and an economic blockade imposed on the country. However In 1990 there were free elections and democracy was restored With this background mural painting became an important part of life in Nicaragua as one of the few, if not only, ways of expressing their opinions or beliefs. They were used as tools to educate the public about their rights, especially in relation to issues like health and education.
UDY CASE ST
Childhood and Art in the Struggle Against Violence
This Project promotes affectionate and respectful relationships between children and their parents. It currently operates in 6 different neighborhoods around Estelí. More than 200 children, young people, members of Community Development Boards and Civil Society Boards and people in the community who have leadership roles within their neighbourhood are involved. For more information, click here. (http://www.funarte.org.ni/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=6)
WHERE DID THE PARTNERSHIP START?
Mayfield Community Arts Centre has had a connection with FUNARTE since 2000. In this year the Centre was approached by Irish NGO Trócaire, who’s office in Nicaragua was supporting FUNARTE. The Centre was asked to make contact with FUNARTE and to see how Irish young people could benefit from learning about the work being done in Estelí. The first Muralismo Project was completed in Mayfield in 2002. See the Centre’s website for more details. (www.mayfieldarts.org/old_site/2002_nicaragua.htm