WORKSHOPS CONDUCTED AS PART OF THE EUROPEAN PROJECT – “HEALING NATURE”

09 April 2025

Healing Nature is an innovative project created by Dr. art. Melinda Šefčić and Dr. phil. Lea Vidaković. The core idea of the project is based on a holistic approach to healing, recognizing art and culture as key elements in promoting mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. At the European level, the project supports interdisciplinary research on the impact of art on the well-being of individuals and communities, with a special focus on inclusivity and sustainability.

The workshop segment of the project is aimed at fostering social inclusion through workshops on art, animation, and technology with children, whose contributions and creative outputs will become an integral part of the final artworks. These workshops are conducted with specifically selected groups of children, such as those without parental care and children with special needs, thereby further emphasizing the project’s commitment to social engagement. These activities encourage artistic creativity, imagination, motivation, play, and social integration among children. The “from child to child” principle applied during the workshops supports the project’s goals and raises awareness of the importance of social engagement.

In Bulgaria, workshops will be led by a team of psychologists and artists working with children with special needs and children without parental care, and the results will serve as the foundation for the final mural and animation design. The Portuguese partners will focus on the technological aspect through workshops held after the mural is installed, working with children from school communities in collaboration with the Monstra Animation Festival. The project includes six workshops (two per country), involving up to 90 participants.

As part of the project, the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) organized two art workshops with children without adequate parental care. The aim of these workshops was to encourage children’s creative expression and to incorporate their artwork into the final mural design, which will become part of an interactive experience in a hospital setting.

The first workshop was held on February 24, 2025, at Kuća sv. Franje in Vugrovec and was attended by 15 children aged 6 to 14. Under the guidance of artist Melinda Šefčić, the children created drawings of endangered animals, birds, and insects using markers and colored pencils. Through both structured and free drawing sessions, a total of 30 artworks were produced. In addition to creative expression, the workshop included an educational component about nature conservation. The children also took the initiative to create a picture book and drawings with supportive messages for hospital patients.

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The second workshop took place on March 18, 2025, at SOS Children’s Village Lekenik, with 12 children aged 6 to 11 participating. Following a similar program to the first workshop, the children, guided by artist Melinda Šefčić, created 25 drawings themed around endangered animals and were also given the opportunity to draw freely. The workshop had educational and therapeutic dimensions.

In total, 27 children participated in the two workshops, creating 55 drawings, which will be incorporated into the final mural. These workshops significantly contributed to the children’s emotional development, strengthened their sense of connection to the community, and increased awareness of the importance of nature conservation and social inclusion through art.

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The Croatian Association of Fine Artists is the lead partner of the European project Healing Nature – Animation for Health and Well-being in Children Hospital Environments, implemented in collaboration with Universidade Lusófona / Cofac from Portugal and New Bulgarian University from Bulgaria. Most of the current artworks in hospitals consist of traditional murals, paintings, and sculptures, while there is a lack of contemporary interactive works and animations in children’s hospital waiting areas—artworks aimed at supporting mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. The HEALING NATURE project will create an interactive experience using augmented reality (AR) with animated content to provide a welcoming and soothing hospital atmosphere, offering a calming and distracting experience for children. The project builds upon two previously realized pilot projects authored by Dr. art. Melinda Šefčić and Dr. phil. Lea Vidaković, implemented in the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Center in 2021 (Digital Fauna) and 2023 (Animated Forest World in Hospital Spaces). The project includes: 3 murals in hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria, and Portugal, 3 augmented reality experiences in hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria, and Portugal, 6 workshops with children, 1 research study on the impact of such content on patients and hospital staff, 1 digital booklet presenting the project’s results, 3 press conferences to present the project outcomes.

Within the project:

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

[Project Number: 101173267]

Project is co-financed by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs.

Co-funded by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia. The views expressed in this release are the sole responsibility of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists and do not necessarily reflect the stance of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia.

HDLU