And the winner is...!

'M is given an international award by ICOM for the educational project 'The Art Bridge'

June 22, 2023

M Leuven is one of three winners of the 'Best Practice Award 2023', presented by CECA, the Education and Cultural Actions Committee of the international museum network ICOM. The award went to the 'The Art Bridge' project, which head of service Public Relations Sofie Vermeiren spent six years working on along with her department and the Mater Dei school in Leuven. This international award is a great culmination of a project that investigad how art can make children more confident and which involved them intensively in the museum.

M Leuven is in great company as the other winners are Mexico's Mi Museo Universitario La Salle which won with its project 'El arte es el pretexto', directed by Ariadna Vargas Trejo, and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts which won with its project 'Curation for and with children: 'The Renovation of the Children's Art Space at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts', developed by Tzu-Chi Chan.

"We are particularly proud of this award from CECA-ICOM," says Bert Cornillie, alderman for culture and chair of the board of directors of M. "'The Art Bridge' was a project that had considerable social impact. It showed that by engaging with art, children learn how to express themselves, think creatively, build social skills and be critical. It made a young and diverse group of kids from Leuven more confident and that in turn strengthened their place in society."

"I look back on 'The Art Bridge' with great pride and satisfaction," says Sofie Vermeiren, head of the Department of Public Engagement and winner of the Best Practice Award 2023. "It is amazing that CECA-ICOM rewards the efforts of our staff and those of Mater Dei in this way. The project has now come to an end but was followed up late last year to make sure that the knowledge gained is not lost. The 'Six Years of The Art Bridge’ also led to a publication for schools and cultural institutions, which presents the project in detail and lists the main conclusions."

The Art Bridge

In 2016, M and the Mater Dei primary school in Leuven joined forces and started a long-term collaboration. The project came about thanks to support from the Queen Paola Foundation and the M-arts patrons. There were specific activities for each grade. The children in year 3, for example, attended a series of workshops run by artists or art-education tutors. The children of the sixth grade followed a guide course and gave a tour to their parents and teachers. The practical implementation of the project was in the hands of M's public relations department and a teacher from Mater Dei.

CECA-ICOM

The Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA), is one of the oldest international committees of ICOM, the international network of museums and museum professionals, which works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage. CECA itself counts over 1,000 members across 85 countries. One of CECA's objectives is to promote and disseminate national and international developments around museum education. Each year, the committee presents the Best Practice Award to three educational programmes that can inspire and educate the entire museum field.

Publication

Schools and cultural institutions can request 'Six Years of The Arts Bridge' free of charge from M (mailto: sofie.vermeiren@mleuven.be). The publication is also available on the website of M.