From 16.-21. October, the cooperation project and Erasmus+ group mobility of the students of the Tallinna Saksa Gümnaasium and the German School in Lisbon took place in Lisbon. The project focused on street art and photography.

Street art

The first half of the project took place at Fablab Lisboa, a makerspace studio. Students learned about digital drawing programs Procreate and Adobe Illustrator. Together they searched for topics about the street art exhibition they were organizing. At the beginning of the workshop, the group quickly found several common features between Estonia and Portugal: peaceful revolutions, similar flora and fauna, almost similar patterns in folklore and music. Stencil art works were created based on these themes. The workshop was organized by graphic designer Hugo Makarov, who showed the students how to create stencils using Procreate app. All the illustrations and stencils were created by the students using reference photos or using their own creativity. 

To create street art works and get inspiration, the students visited several exhibitions, including Joana Vasconcelos exhibition at the MAAT museum and the joint exhibition of famous street artists “Urban (R)evolution” at Cordoaria Nacional. They also took part in a joint street art tour in the city of Lisbon, where various street art works were introduced, which are usually not noticed and cannot be observed when visiting the city.

On Wednesday, October 18, the joint exhibition was opened in Fablab. Students created large-scale works of art using their stencils, in addition to silk-screen printing on shirts and fabric bags (using the same stencils). The exhibition was exhibited in the outdoor area of Fablab, it was opened to the students, teachers, parents and the public. Almost 50 people came to the opening.

Photography

On Thursday, an exciting and educational cyanotype workshop took place at the Casa da Cerca Art Center. Students gained knowledge about the process and history of cyanotype photography. They had the opportunity to go through the entire process from start to finish, mixing cyanotype solutions and chemicals, preparing canvases, placing plants and self-made stencil artwork on the canvas, and developing photographic artwork using water and sunlight.

Cultural program

In addition, there was a cultural trip to Sintra. We visited the Quinta da Regaleira castle, visited Portugal's westernmost peak, Cabo da Roca, and the city of Cascais. 

During the week-long cooperation project, our students learned about Portuguese culture and life, practiced English and German, created a joint exhibition, and broadened their horizons and skills in learning about new techniques and experiences. The joint project will continue in Tallinn already in February 2024.

Many thanks to our partners:

German School in Lisbon art teachers Anna Malessa, Paula Koenig and Anna Costa

Makerspace Fablab Lisboa

Graphic designer Hugo Makarov

Contemporary Art Center Casa da Cerca