Art unites young people across Europe

A digital art exhibition showcasing how volunteering can empower young people and enhance social inclusion across Europe launches today. 

The VOLPOWER Digital Exhibition, led by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), is the result of an EU Asylum and Migrant Integration Fund (AMIF) -funded project which used sport, cultural and artistic activities to increase social integration between EU citizens and migrants. 

Researchers in Scotland, Holland, Austria, Malta, Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia worked with local groups and provided mentoring for sports and creative arts volunteers to set up their own projects. 

The volunteers' first-hand experiences were used to create a collection of videos, collages, poetry, podcasts, and photography. 

The exhibition was due to take place in Rotterdam but was moved online due to the coronavirus.  

Dr Maggie Laidlaw, a researcher at GCU and lead curator of the VOLPOWER exhibition, said: "This is a truly pandemic-inflected exhibition and shows how dire circumstances can trigger creativity.  

"We believe that it has helped generate an even more interesting and innovative collection of work. 

"The exhibition showcases different voices in different formats and shines a spotlight on the process of academic and creative engagement with the public, and the results it can deliver. 

"Working together in sport, creative art or cultural activities has the power to break down language barriers and enables young people to truly connect with one another." 

GCU worked alongside the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the EURAC Institute for Minority Rights in South Tyrol, Italy, Zavod APIS, in Slovenia, SOS Malta, and IRMO Croatia, on the project. 

VOLPOWER is led by Professor Umut Korkut and hosted by WISE Centre for Economic Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Visit the exhibition - www.volpower.eu/digital-exhibition/