Workshops “It’s an art to be yourself”

Creativity and activity workshops for children and teenagers (“It’s an art to be yourself”) organised by the artists from Galeria Rusz and the Primary School No. 5 in Toruń were a response to growing problems related to earlier initiation of use of various stimulants among children.

Prevention of addictions by leisure time organisation, and promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle by cultural activities, reinforce protective factors associated with risky behaviours and are extremely important at a time when the percentage of children and teenagers using stimulants is constantly on the rise, and the age of initiation is getting lower. The main objective of the workshops prepared by the artists from Galeria Rusz was to encourage children and teenagers to find positive patterns and their own passions that would fill their free time in a creative manner.

The artists from Toruń, Joanna Górska and Rafał Góralski, prepared interdisciplinary workshops that consisted of a variety of activities:

Time with a psychologist and addiction counsellor aimed at equipping the participants in the knowledge on addictions and the “tools” that would help them cope with everyday stress, difficult emotions and peer pressure. The meetings were designed to support teenagers in building a positive image of themselves, self-development, self-control and assertiveness.

Meetings with “people with passion” led by Aleksandra Molin, art historian and tour guide in Toruń, Paweł Kowalski, actor of the Wilam Horzyca Theatre, and Mariusz Warachim, dendrologist and horticultural therapist. This was an attempt to infect the participants with the passion for learning, exploring, acting and creating, show them new interests, and help them develop their own passions. The leaders inspired the teenagers with the ideas for spending their free time, and gave them the courage to realise the full potential of their own ideas.

The participants of creative artistic workshops organised by the artists from Galeria Rusz created their own projects which were then developed in terms of graphic design and prepared for printing in appropriate formats. The final result was a month-long exhibition in the city space of Toruń, displayed on citylights on bus shelters, and advertising pillars.