Creation of the museum and development of the outdoor space of the school to organize events in Kalamitsi
August 7, 2022Name of the place / building: Creation of the museum and development of the outdoor space of the school to organize events in Kalamitsi
Short description of the building/place:
This project was initiated in 2020. Solidarity Tracks’ volunteers, in collaboration with local volunteers from the village of Kalamitsi, started an effort to remodel the interior and exterior of the old primary school’s building which is currently used as a folklore museum. Residents and the local authority used it as storage space for several years as it was empty. Old objects, clothes, and household utensils from the early decades of the 20th century were collected and stored in the school building. The locals hoped for a local folklore museum. With the help of young people from the village, the volunteers from Solidarity Tracks carefully cleaned the objects using protective cleaners, painted and repaired some of them, and placed and set up the exhibits. Initially, they did personal research in order to understand the use of many objects they did not know and kept collaborating with the locals, exchanging knowledge and ideas.
The remodelling and renovation of the exterior of the building were reinitiated in late 2021. The artists working voluntarily with the “Solidarity Tracks” organization spend more than a month reconstructing the entire schoolyard. There were murals in the area which had been damaged due to the weather and local climate conditions. The volunteers started by cleaning and properly preparing the walls. In collaboration with the members of the cultural club of the village, they decided on the design inspired by the traditional Lefkadian embroidery and the traditional Lefkadian costume. The mural adorns all the walls around the courtyard, where many cultural events are held every summer. Anastasia, the artist working with Solidarity Tracks, designed a watermill inspired by the 14 watermills that used to exist in the village before being abandoned. The unique design used on the walls of the courtyard, inspired by the Karsaniko embroidery, attracts more people to the village, especially during summer. The general upgrading of the old school of the village has contributed to the cultural development of the village.
Video
Event 1: Opening ceremony of the Kalamitsi Folklore Museum
Event date: 16 August 2020
Event description: On 16th August of 2020, the opening ceremony of the Kalamitsi Folklore Museum was held. The whole community attended. The museum is operative and is worth visiting.
Event 2: Kalamitsi beach clean up
Event date: 2 June 2022
Event description:
On Thursday, June 2 2022, Solidarity Tracks and the cultural club or Kalamitsi cooperated to organize a beach clean up of the beach of Kalamitisi. As part of a European environmental protection program, 30 young volunteers part of the European Solidarity Corps program, came to clean area with difficult access. Due to the shipwreck on Gaidaros beach, the area was full of garbage and broken vessels. After the clean up, volunteers joined a local traditional buffet offered by the cultural club. They had the chance to visit the museum and the mural.
Municipal Indoor Gym of Lefkada
August 7, 2022Name of the place / building: Municipal Indoor Gym of Lefkada
Short description of the building/place:
The indoor gym is one of many buildings in the city of Lefkada which could have a facade redesign. It was asked by the municipality to propose and materialise a renovation of the facades by the artist and volunteers of Solidarity Tracks.
The building walls were painted and transformed into a completely different edifice. The main aim of the renovation was to create a new landmark. The use of the building is depicted on the facades with the use of modern graffitis.
The volunteers, in collaboration with the municipality, decided on the final design, and the process of painting started immediately. The building was structured with some rectangular “blind windows”, so for each square, a different motif was designed – related to a sports activity.
These murals show the variety of sports activities that can be facilitated there and, last but not least, the importance of sport and a healthy lifestyle.
Kindergarten/ Folklore museum’s courtyard of Syvros
August 7, 2022Name of the place / building: Kindergarten/ Folklore museum’s courtyard of Syvros
Short description of the building/place:
In the summer of 2021, the artists volunteers from Syvros leaded by the president of the village and the volunteers of Solidarity Τracks, with the support of the City Hall of Lefkada, painted, decorated and animated the cultural and educational complex of the village, in the frame of RESCUE project under Erasmus plus programme (Adult education). They designed and created a mural at the primary school of Syvros, with the aim to provide the children beautiful learning environment, as well as artistic and aesthetic revitalization of the building, and general cultural development of the small community of the village. The activity was based on the initiative of the local residents. Apart from the artistic design of the central exterior wall of the school, volunteers also painted an interactive game with ecological connotations in the school’s courtyard.
In the low wall in front of the terrace of the museum, a traditional motif was designed. as inspiration of the old textiles decorated with this kind geometrical shape in the style of the old carpets that can be seen in the museum.
Moreover, opposite the building, in the other part of the courtyard, a little garden for the children was created. Wooden flowerbeds (jardinieres) were made by the volunteers and put there. The main reason for this was to have children participate more in actions regarding nature and the environment. In each flowerbed, there were different plants, and wooden sticks with the plants’ names were added. On this side of the courtyard, as there was an existing metallic frame covered in plants, more frames were added in order to facilitate exhibition works made by the children or artists presenting their work. All kindergarten-related fences were painted accordingly.
Event 1
1. Event name: Opening event
2. Event date: Tuesday 20th of July 2021
3. Event description:
ESC volunteers organized a European Gastronomy event. They prepared traditional recipes from their country with local products in order to share a common buffet with the local community during the opening event of the renewed kindergarten and folklore museum courtyard. Volunteers also implemented workshop for kids and all ages to promote healthy food and European values.
4. Event video
