Good practice:

AMAReMAR – Art and Community

AMAReMAR project arose from the need to promote the skilled occupation of the leisure time of the people living in the southern zone of Esposende, where social housing projects are located, as well as to foster the creation of informal networks to support and promote the integration, growth and appreciation of people, and foster opportunities for personal growth and social inclusion of these people.
The sense of belonging to a group brought to the public space moments of local history retold, making the community relive the past of the fishing communities, that are part of their history, live the present and project the future.
The project is open to the general public, of all ages and free access, with special attention to the public in situations of greater social vulnerability.
"AMAR/LOVE" and "MAR/SEA" refer to the linking of people to the sea, their experiences and feelings, and the love for the community, for the people.
It integrates workshops of Theatre, Music, Illustration and Creative Sewing, always with a background issue related to the Sea. It also seeks to promote participatory attitudes in the cultural and social life of the community.

In 2019 the amount is 40 thousand euros, assumed by the Municipality: Payment of human resources (workshop trainers and consultant), materials (acquisition of materials needed for workshops), leasing of a space (project headquarters). The municipality has 3 technicians to support the project.

The project has cultural and social assets. It establishes a strong link with the fishing community and gets a great involvement of local people, especially the participation of children and young adults.
In 2018, 6 activities hold, 4 artistic actions, 122 people involved.
In 2019, 11 activities hold, 22 artistic actions, 204 people involved.
A positive evolution of the number of actions implemented and people involved.

At the beginning of the project, the greatest difficulty was to increase the number of participants, due to the absence of habits of participation and a certain social apathy.
The financial resources are assumed by the Municipality, but more incentives /public support is required.

The AMAReMAR project is also a good example of transferability, it is already being replicated in another parish of the municipality of Esposende.
The headquarter is strategically located to involve the population living in this area that is social housing, and the work in fishing communities areas (port) facilitates the creation of a bond with this people and the fishing communities.
The project is easily transferable since every region has similar social problems to solve. The good initiatives of this project are very indicated to adapt to any other local community. But only with a strong human and financial support from the public entities, as during the realization the organizers also designed the offers as barrier-free as possible – people didn’t need to pay a participation fee for the different workshops and were free to join the events spontaneously without any registration.