Arts Lab 6.0: Salah Mehdaoui - Month 5

In the second half of January, we attended the Mid-Term Evaluation, a key moment to reflect on our journey, experiences, activities, and roles. The evaluation also provided a space for meeting other volunteers from different projects across Romania which gave us new ideas and inspiration.

After returning, I focused on completing my personal artwork for the Rroma exhibition, as time was running out. Luckily, I finished it on time, which included a photo session in Târgu Frumos with different locals. At the same time, Yasser and I wrapped up our work with the youth from Ion Creangă School. The result was three short films made by the students. Everything was well-organized, and the Rroma Project Exhibition was a success.

Now in February, we are working on our final project, focused on the Cucuteni Civilization, an ancient culture that began 7,000 years ago in what is now Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. For this project, I worked on two different activities.

The first was an artistic residency with youth from Şcoala Profesională Specială TRINITAS, a school for children with disabilities. We created decorative wooden plates inspired by Cucuteni art. Working with these participants was a rewarding experience, as I learned from both them and the professional teachers at the school. Their patience, and unique ways of expressing themselves taught me the value of slowing down and appreciating the process. Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

The second project was a collaboration with local volunteers from Târgu Frumos and Cucuteni. We wanted to create something sustainable that would help local youth while promoting the community. Our idea was to start a podcast discussing different cultural and artistic aspects of the area. Alongside that, we planned to launch a social media page featuring short interviews with random people on the streets, capturing their thoughts and stories. 

For my personal artwork, I wanted to try something different, a Cucuteni-themed platformer video game. The idea was to mix education with fun, making the ancient civilization more engaging for younger generations.

As my journey on this project comes to an end, I am doing my best to complete everything meaningfully.

Report by Salah Mehdaoui, a volunteer from Algeria and one of the 14 participants in Arts Lab 6.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps program.