Through the projects that it supports, the Sommer Foundation aims to stimulate the minds of children and youngsters and make them more inquisitive so that they can participate in our society through the medium of culture and the arts. It encourages the creation of new forms of cooperation between partners from different communities and with different viewpoints, so that the people and cultures in Luxembourg may understand each other better.
Supported projects

LES ATELIERS DE CREATION
On the strength of a general dynamic over many years and the energy of a new ‘wave’ of young people, Zaltimbanq’ decided to set up the ‘Creation Workshops’ project, aimed at children and young people aged between 9 and 13. After several years of practice, some young people are motivated to embark on a new adventure that is more specific, more creative and more artistic. This project is aimed at those young people who want to embark on the adventure of creating their own circus art, and who, through weekly classes, intensive courses, presentations, cultural awareness and encounters, will be given time and space to express themselves without limits, revealing their personalities, potential, creativity and community.
The project will culminate in the summer of 2024 with the Festival sous Chapiteau, which will showcase the young people’s creations.

JE SUIS L'ELEPHANT, TU ES LA SOURIS
Le projet de théâtre « Je suis l’Eléphant, tu es la Souris » s’inscrit dans le cadre de la lutte contre la violence de genre et les stéréotypes de genre dans laquelle Artemysia Théâtre asbl est engagée depuis des décennies.
Le projet consiste en la réalisation d’un atelier de théâtre pour enfants de 8 à 12 ans avec mise en scène finale. L’objectif du projet est de questionner les stéréotypes de genre avec les outils du théâtre social, d’une manière spécifiquement ciblée sur l’âge des participants, afin de favoriser le plein épanouissement de la personnalité de l’enfant, en respectant ses inclinations.
Artemysia Théâtre souhaite ainsi que les bénéfices de cette prise de conscience se manifestent non seulement chez les enfants qui participent activement à l’atelier, mais aussi chez l’assistance (adultes et enfants) à laquelle sera présenté le spectacle à la fin des ateliers; la mise en scène á la manière des « griots » africains, facilite le partage des contenus et des émotions, dans une ambiance ludique et conviviale.
Une première série d’ateliers avait lieu entre janvier et juin 2023 avec 10 enfants. Un deuxième série a lieu encore jusqu’à décembre 2023.

RE BONDIR
The RE Bondir project explored the issue of dropping out of school, and the Reidener Jugendtreff wanted to give young people a voice to tell the story of their wanderings through music. The aim of the project was to establish a dialogue where communication is difficult, both among young people and between young people and their parents and teachers.
In weekly music workshops, teenagers aged 13 to 18 wrote, composed and recorded songs under the watchful eye of Pascal Gualandris (“Packo”) and Claudio Borri. Thanks to a highly committed team and the support of teachers and parents, the project has encouraged the young people by putting them in a position to succeed (with their project) so that they can gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.
“With this project, we want to change the way we look at young people and encourage people to listen to and understand others. Young people have things to tell us, but they sometimes have difficulty with the means of communication. Music (and art) in general is a very interesting way of communicating. (Martine Thielmanns, educator)
PRÉVENTION CONTRE LA VIOLENCE ET LE HARCÈLEMENT À L’ÉCOLE
La représentation des parents d’élèves organisera un projet pour l’année scolaire 2023-2024 autour du sujet « prévention contre la violence et le harcèlement à l’école ».
Il s’agit d’un projet extra-scolaire qui s’adresse aux parents et aux enfants scolarisés à l’école fondamental de Mersch.
L’objectif de ce projet et de sensibiliser les parents et les enfants à la thématique de la violence et plus spécifiquement du harcèlement à l’école. Le projet vise à impliquer les élèves et les parents dans une démarche collective pour prévenir la violence, favoriser le respect mutuel et soutenir les victimes.
Ce projet s’étirera tout au long de l’année scolaire 2023-2024 avec l’organisation de 3 activités :
1. Une soirée d’informations pour les parents
2. Une lecture matinale pour les enfants de 3 à 8 ans
3. Un workshop pour les enfants de 8 à 12 ans

JE SUIS L'ELEPHANT, TU ES LA SOURIS
The theatre project “Je suis l’Eléphant, tu es la Souris” (I am the Elephant, you are the Mouse) is part of the fight against gender violence and gender stereotypes to which Artemysia Théâtre asbl has been committed for decades.
The project consists of a theatre workshop for children aged 8 to 12, with a final production. The aim of the project is to question gender stereotypes using the tools of social theatre, in a way that is specifically targeted at the age of the participants, in order to encourage the full development of the child’s personality, while respecting their inclinations.
Artemysia Théâtre hopes that the benefits of this awareness will be felt not only by the children who actively participate in the workshop, but also by the audience (adults and children) to whom the show will be presented at the end of the workshops; the staging, in the style of African ‘griots’, makes it easier to share content and emotions in a fun and friendly atmosphere.
A first series of workshops took place between January and June 2023 with 10 children. A second series will continue until December 2023.

WOMEN COMPOSERS IN LUXEMBOURG - DISCOVERING MUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH
The CID Fraen a Gender, in collaboration with the University of Luxembourg and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, aims through this project to study the history of music from a gender perspective. The creation of the mugi.lu website, which was launched at the end of 2022, will make it possible not only to create a digital collection on women composers in Luxembourg, but also to make teaching materials available to teachers. The creation of this material began in autumn 2022 with workshops for primary and secondary school classes. The aim of these practical workshops is to familiarise children and young people with the theme of musical research, using concrete examples from female musicians and composers in Luxembourg. In this way, students become researchers themselves, exploring sources and discovering a new professional field with which they have little day-to-day contact.

READ-WRITE-CREATE & GO !
As part of this project, various activities such as reading, writing, drawing, dance and music were offered to refugees and migrants aged between 3 and 20 living in the Red Cross hostel in Sanem. The project aimed to reduce the gap in reading and writing skills among children from a migrant background through an innovative method: family learning. It also aimed to encourage non-formal education, intercultural exchanges and creativity. Thanks to the expertise of the Social Impact Development Centre and the Association d’Artistes Pluriels asbl, 25 children and young people could benefit from these multidisciplinary activities once a week.

ECH KRÉIEN (K)ENG KRIS
“The biodiversity crisis and the disappearance of species – we have a problem!” This is the theme of the joint project by natur&ëmwelt and Independent Little Lies. Through open-air theatre workshops, co-directed by a theatre director and a nature educator, the two partners aim to raise awareness among children and young adults of a subject that concerns us all. Through the link between art and science, they hope to improve understanding of the biodiversity crisis in general, and in Luxembourg in particular. After a first series of workshops in 2022, a second is planned for the end of 2023, open to young people aged between 12 and 18.

ARTS & POTAGER ("ARTS & GARDENING")
Located in the Pfaffenthal district, in the former presbytery, Canopée manages a 450m2 garden plot on the grounds of its head office. Since 2021, the association has been developing its Arts & Potager socio-cultural project there, a programme designed to raise awareness of creative, vegetable-growing and gastronomic practices among the neighbourhood’s childcare facilities. Alternating with introductory workshops on growing vegetables and raising awareness of sustainable development, artists will continue to run creative workshops on the flora and fauna of the Canopée vegetable garden throughout 2023. The aim is to teach young people, from an early age, to look after their earth and pass on their know-how.

CHUUUT(E)
As part of its creation for young audiences CHUUUT(E), the Z Art company, led by Luxembourg choreographer Giovanni Zazzera, developed an educational project for children aged 6 and over. For 3 workshops, a class from the Brouch school in Esch/Alzette worked with the artistic team to explore the theme of the piece, namely the fall, whether physical or emotional. According to the company, this is an “important subject to tackle with young people, as falling is most often associated with defeat, mistakes and a negative connotation”. In the movement workshops, and through exchanges and discussions with the dancers, the costume designer and a drama teacher, the company offered a different perspective on falling. The children were also given the opportunity to experiment with new aspects for themselves.
“I think workshops like this should be held more often in schools with artists. Children need role models to help them realise their dreams. They were so enthusiastic about the artists, who kept explaining to the children how much work goes into art. But they also taught them never to give up and to make their dreams come true”. (teacher)

NEW MINETT" MEDIATION PROJECT
This mediation project was developed around the New Minett exhibition, which was the final stage of the Esch-Mars. De terres rouges en terres rouges project, produced as part of Esch2022, European Capital of Culture by the Eddi van Tsui Company. Through the exhibition, which looked at the exploitation and exploration of space and social utopias, 30 pupils from the Annexe Alliance Lycée Nic-Biever and the Lënster Lycée International School discovered the artistic translation of the subjects raised, mobilised their critical minds and questioned the world around them. The educational aspect, devised by the project leader, consisted of a preparatory talk in class, a guided tour of the exhibition at the Konschthal Esch and a discussion following the visit. The company’s artists and educators accompanied the young people in their own research and reflections on the idea of utopia.

MODU.LIER URBAIN
This luca – Luxembourg Center for Architecture project was an opportunity for young people aged between 10 and 13 to discover the architectural profession by familiarising themselves with design methods and tools, and by building an object themselves. Over the course of a week, 15 youngsters were able to cultivate their creativity and work “hands on”, under the guidance of the luca teaching team and artist Serge Ecker. Together, they used recycled materials to build planters that would serve as teaching resources for the children of Clausen school, located opposite the luca. Sometimes hesitant at the beginning of the workshop, faced with the different tools and multiple stages, the participants gradually gained confidence, increased their design capacity and developed skills that most of them didn’t have before. At the end of the workshop, many of the children were inspired and motivated to continue inventing and creating projects at home.

MAT IECH ("WITH YOU")
As part of her Mat Iech outreach programme, Luxembourg choreographer Elisabeth Schilling gave 60 children and young people from the Millermoaler primary school and the Lycée classique in Echternach the opportunity to immerse themselves in her artistic universe, and more specifically in that of her creation ITA INFINITA. After attending a school performance, the young people were able to take part in a workshop on movement, led by the three dancers and the choreographer herself. Through games and discussions with the artistic team, they were encouraged to develop their own personal interpretations of a work of art, and to share their impressions with others. Thanks to the involvement of a wide range of cultural and educational partners in this project, the company has succeeded in creating a solid network that will form the basis of further cooperation in the area of outreach to young audiences, thereby ensuring the long-term future of its educational work.

NIKKI NINJA & AFROBEATHOVEN – KNËPPELSTENG ZU RÄPPELDENG
This project enabled 65 pupils from three primary schools and the BTS Animation course at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers to take part in the process of creating the music performance Nikki Ninja, which brings together the worlds of Luxembourg hip hop and jazz through the NICOOL Project (Nicole Bausch, Nadja Prange and Dennis Scholtes) and Pol Belardi & Afrobeathoven. The aim of the project was to raise awareness of hip hop far removed from the stereotypes that are sometimes associated with it (violence, misogyny), in order to offer the full expressive potential of this genre. In creative workshops run jointly by a drama teacher and the artists, pupils aged between 7 and 9 gave their opinions on the themes to be covered in the songs, learned how to record tracks and sounds, and also came up with their own suggestions for costumes. Confident in their relationship with the artists, the children even felt free to talk about their “little silly things”, which contributed to the show.

MY ECHO, MY SHADOW AND ME (3 X ME)
Through this project, 50 young people aged between 15 and 26, in vulnerable situations, were introduced to the “Self portrait experience (SPEX)” method, developed by the artist Cristina Nuñez. Through a series of workshops, the artist offers a practical tool for exploring the influence of digital culture on people’s identity. In contrast to the selfie, which tends to reflect a smoothed-out image of the individual, she is looking at the way in which we – and in this case young people in particular – can use technological tools such as cameras, smartphones and social networks to express our emotions and broaden our perception of ourselves and others without filters. The benefits for young people have been many: empowerment, increased self-esteem, creativity, self-knowledge and emotional management. A selection of the photographic material resulting from the workshops was presented in an exhibition at the University of Luxembourg, a permanent online exhibition and a publication.
“Seeing everyone’s photos hanging there in physical form really touched me and also made me think about the difference between seeing things online and on a screen and seeing them in physical form. It had a really big impact on me. This project has really given me the courage to adapt to my emotions and those of others without being afraid of them”. (participant)

DANSEURS A L'ECOLE
Through this project, the Lycée Vauban offered its students the chance to meet professional dancers and experience an art form from which they may be somewhat distanced. The contemporary dance companies AWA – As We Are and Corps in Situ were on site for 6 months, carrying out a range of activities for students and teachers. During their creative residency, the artists opened the doors of the studio to attend rehearsals, take part in workshops and film their fellow students. While there were also classroom presentations on the subjects explored in their plays, the students were also able to attend professional performances outside the studio. The presence of the artists on a daily basis also allowed for informal but essential exchanges for the young people. Lastly, by bringing together several school disciplines – dance, video, art and film – the project helped to create a real teaching-artistic community, a fertile ground for future projects of this kind within the lycée.

DIE MASCHINE STEHT STILL ("THE MACHINE STOPS")
Under the guidance of theatre artists and teachers from Marion Rothhaar’s team and the Théâtre National du Luxembourg, 28 pupils from the Lycée des Garçons d’Esch/Alzette were involved in the process of creating the theatrical performance The Machine Stops, based on the novel by E. M. Forster. During ten workshops at the lycée, the young people became intensively familiar with the philosophical and literary content of this visionary 1909 work on technological development. Thanks to a mutual exchange with the artistic team, their own ideas, impulses and questions found their way into the play, and they thus became the co-creators of a professional artistic project, performed 7 times as part of Esch 2022, European Capital of Culture.

E ROUDE FUEDEM DUERCH DE ROUDE BUEDEM
As part of Esch 2022, European Capital of Culture, the MASKéNADA artists’ collective has developed theatrical performances to bring back to life the images of women conveyed in old Luxembourg stories and legends. Six legend trails in six communes of southern Luxembourg formed this “artistic walk” through the natural setting of the Minett region. For added impact, the Roude Fuedem project was accompanied by an educational project, adapted to 3 routes in particular. Collaboration with theatre educators and partnerships with schools in the municipalities involved enabled students to familiarise themselves with the theme of legends, meet the artists and receive keys to the performance.

NOMADIC ISLAND
For three weeks, Nomadic Island opened up a new space of possibilities in Luxembourg. Some thirty young people aged between 12 and 16 met, worked and lived with artists from Luxembourg, France, England and Germany as part of a multidisciplinary and participative artistic creation residency on the site of the Thillenberg stadium in Differdange. Working side by side with the artists, on the threshold between wild nature and the industrial landscape, the young people took part in the creation of various works combining painting, writing, film and the construction of wooden structures. They also learned about socially, ecologically, economically and culturally responsible and sustainable behaviour, starting with the upkeep of the artistic residency camp. It was a great experiment in cooperative artistic work for these young people.

LE BUTAÏ DE SOPHIA
With Sophia’s Boutaï, director Rita Bento dos Reis developed a theatrical educational project in which the participants – pupils in cycles 3 and 4 of primary education in Luxembourg – were able to illustrate, act and tell short scenes with a boutaï – a small wooden theatre of Japanese origin in which boards run – and together tell La petite fille de la mer (‘The little girl from the sea’), a tale by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. Sophia’s Boutaï was a playful project designed to awaken artistic interest in the pleasures of language and the discovery of a great Portuguese author. The project, carried out in collaboration with the ‘Coordination de l’enseignement de Camões – Centro Cultural Português – Luxemburgo’, showed just how rich the discovery of cultures can be, particularly through the taming of reading, languages and artistic expression.

TAMA
The project was initiated and organised by the EME Foundation and the Adam Roberti Specialised State Reception Classes (CSAE) for refugee children who have just arrived in Luxembourg. For 3 months, 25 children between the ages of 6 and 12 learned to play the djembe and learn about music in weekly workshops led by percussionist Robert Bodja. The djembe is a versatile instrument that doesn’t produce false notes or misunderstandings, and it gives its players confidence. Through music, the children were able to express themselves without language barriers, through rhythm and dance. As a finale to the workshops, the children shared what they had learned with their classmates and teachers, drawing all the spectators into their communicative joy.

WHAT'S IN YOUR EYES?
Students of the Lycée des Arts et Métiers under the artistic direction of Joseph Tomassini and Jean Back.
This collaboration between Jean Back and the 2TPTI class (video and photography) at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers is based on the play “Bilder einer Ausstellung revisited”, which accompanies the new novel “l’Arc di Marianna” (Editions Guy Binsfeld) by Jean Back.
The author asked the students to create a visual interpretation of the texts he had written for Modest Mussorgsky’s famous piano cycle. The photographs created in this way are thus a further development of the historical pictures by Viktor Hartmann, which inspired the Russian composer. The very free literary interpretation of Mussorgsky’s work by Back is contrasted with the very personal view of the young people, who were able to get to know the diverse professional profiles and working worlds in the theatre through this project.

OP WEI ENGEM GRONDRËSS WËLLS DU WUNNEN?
In the framework of her architecture mediation project WAA – Wat ass Architektur? the independent artist-architect Julie Marthe Hoffmann organised, in collaboration with different educational and cultural partners in Luxembourg, workshops with the title WAA – OP WEI ENGEM GRONDRËSS WËLLS DU WUNNEN? in which schoolchildren were asked to imagine the plans in which they would like to live. The aim of this project was to consciously and thoroughly address the topics of housing, cohabitation and architecture and to create a public debate on the most suitable housing for our current and future lifestyles. Thus, these life-size reflections on “new forms of housing” make it possible to imagine new solutions, at the heart of the housing problem in Luxembourg.

TEMPLE – THE ART’N BE PART PROJECT
This is the story of young teenagers on the run, who find themselves left to their own devices in an abandoned “temple”: no presence, no adult to show them how to cope… They don’t know each other and yet they will have to learn to live together for an indefinite time. Coming from different backgrounds, will they be ready to trust each other and live together in order to survive? What will happen if the young people start to create their own system of rules and laws? Will everyone find their place in this community? Will they manage to recreate a better world?
This unique participatory project, launched in 2020, allowed young people aged 12 to 20 to discover the performing arts, to experiment with artistic practice and to become artists of their own creation. Accompanied in their work by 4 experienced multidisciplinary artists – Natercia Rebelo, Benoît Callens, Sacha Hanlet and Elric Vanpouille – and directed by Nathalie Moyen, they worked throughout last season to present this innovative show combining theatre, dance and music on the CAPE stage.
This project is based on an initial proposal and with the financial support of Fondation Sommer.

MY TINY TINY HOUSE
As part of its architectural education mission, the LUCA – Fondation de l’Architecture et de l’Ingénierie regularly organises activities for children and young people.
To launch a new series of workshops, entitled “Architektur SUMMER”, the LUCA has been supported by Fondation Sommer. Through these workshops, the participants are led towards different architectural or urbanistic reflections, but also towards more social aspects and they work on themes that change every year. For the first edition, in summer 2021, of this new programme, LUCA has chosen the theme of “Tiny Houses”, a movement that originated in America and quickly conquered the whole world and found many followers. A Tiny House contains all the essentials for daily life: kitchen, bed, bathroom… However, everything is housed in a very small space ranging from 12 to 25 m2.
During this workshop, children from 6 years old were asked to reflect on several points: how to live in a small space, to discover the advantages and disadvantages, to become familiar with the idea of alternative, ecological and minimalist housing. The workshop went beyond theory. To allow them to be creative, but also to create a greater knowledge and understanding of their built environment, real wooden “Tiny Houses” were imagined and built with the children on a 1:2 scale (they were therefore twice as small as in reality). Together, the participants created a small “Tiny Houses village” in order to raise their awareness of community life.

TEEN POETRY SLAM "LAUTSPRECHER"
Giving young people a voice was the aim of the LAUTSPRECHER project of the Pierre Werner Institute.
In eight poetry slam workshops at the Lënster International School, the Sportlycée and the European School I, young people between the ages of 14 and 18 were challenged to lyrically deal with the theme of freedom in the Corona era. They were coached in writing and performing the texts by professional slam poets Bas Böttcher and Florian Cieslik.
Slam texts consist of three equally important elements: idea, text and performance. In the workshops, the students learned techniques for finding ideas for their own literary texts, writing techniques and practical exercises for stage presentation. The results were recorded and edited into a poetry film.
The project also includes a training course open to all interested teachers on the subject of “poetry slam”, certified by the Institut de formation et de l’éducation Nationale du Luxembourg.

DEI 6. KLASS OP DER BÜHN
Through this project, the non-profit organisation Kultrun, in cooperation with the Waldorf School in Luxembourg City, has given 21 young people aged between 13 and 14 the opportunity to take part in regular theatre and directing workshops. The aim was to design a play together, from start to finish. The children were able to devote themselves to an intense artistic and educational activity, in which they had to overcome doubts, lack of motivation or uncertainty about this new experience. This group work was also an opportunity for the children to discover other social and artistic skills.
“For our group, this project strengthened teamwork and gave us the opportunity to discover new ways of adapting, solving and improving our artistic and teaching practices”. (Natalia Sanchez, drama teacher)

MUDAM STUDENT REPORTERS
Mudam hosted the exhibition “More Sweetly Play the Dance” by South African artist William Kentridge between 13 February and 6 June 2021. This exhibition has the particularity of being part of the red bridge project, a cultural project uniting the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, the Philharmonie and the Mudam. William Kentridge, a multi-disciplinary artist with a mastery of the plastic and performing arts, is therefore halfway between the disciplines promoted by the three Luxembourg cultural institutions. Throughout the exhibition, the BTS Media Writing class from the Lycée Classique de Diekirch and the 1ère Section Image class from the Lycée des Arts et Métiers were the new reporters for Mudam! In the form of a photographic report and a written report, the students revealed the secrets behind the scenes of the exhibition. Following the artist and the Mudam team throughout the exhibition project ( installation and associated programme), the Mudam Student Reporters took an original and personal look at the exhibition.

THINK AHEAD
For the 125th anniversary of the school, the Lycée des Arts et Métiers decided to present itself in a new form. Apart from the more conventional events that punctuate such festivities, the school opted for an exhibition/installation directed by the artist Edmond Oliveira, which questions the place of the school in our societies.
The Think ahead exhibition is based on the concept of participation of all pupils and students of the school. “We put our students at the centre of the project by soliciting their skills, their know-how. But not exclusively academic, we want to give them a space to present themselves! We want them to understand that this is their school, their training and that this school works for and with them.”
At each stage of the exhibition, students from the school’s departments and training courses were asked to participate so that they could live this experience together and become aware of the multitude of interactions necessary to set up such an undertaking.

MEGA BEIS! NUR WUT!
Anger is a very familiar and generally negative feeling. Children are conditioned not to express their anger publicly, to contain it. As they grow older, they are more likely to hide it. However, anger is not an irrational emotion and should be taken seriously and expressed in a positive way.
This is what Kopla Bunz wanted to achieve through its piece “Mega béis! Nur Wut!” for children from 6 years old. Through theatre and dance, the children have been led to analyse anger, to name it, understand it, accept it and deal with it constructively. A website with videos made by the artists and games tailored to a young audience accompanies this project.

VOYAGEURS IMMOBILES
A journey can be manifold. It can be geographical, but also literary and philosophical. One can travel for the taste of exploration, discovery, contemplation, a desire for adventure, a spiritual call or a poetic vocation. One can also travel without moving, letting the spirit wander and thus escaping while the body remains motionless.
Through their project “Voyageurs immobiles”, the Compagnie Artezia questions the components of travel through contemporary dance. Curiosity, openness to the world, acceptance of difference but also imagination and experimentation. In order to nourish its creation and to share its knowledge, the company has carried out some of its creative work in the school environment.
Despite the sanitary context, this was made possible by a strict hygienic concept and a successful collaboration between all stakeholders. For the second time, the company entered the Lycée Vauban for a one-week creative residency in January 2021. This enabled the students to familiarise themselves with the stages of the choreographic creation process. Afterwards, practical workshops were organised so that the students could experiment with contemporary dance and its language.
A short film “Trip, a choreographic creation” recounting the artists’ residency in the school was made by the students of the cinema-audiovisual option and also presented at the “Cinécourts en Herbe” festival.

MY VOICE IS MY POWER
MY VOICE IS MY POWER is a choral project organised by Douri non-profit organisation. This project aims to bring together young people from different cultures and languages. In spite of their differences, they are encouraged to communicate. Their common language is music.
Through music, the young people have been introduced to each other’s culture. They identified what they have in common and work to accept diversity. The group was made up of young people from immigrant and local backgrounds. In addition to working on voice, repertoire and choral singing, the group has strengthened its cohesion and acceptance of diversity. The workshops were led by Maestro Shafi Badreddin.

D'MINA AN DÉI VERGIESSE MELODIE
Within the framework of the children’s production of the Mierscher Kulturhaus D’Mina an déi vergiesse Melodie, the Sommer Foundation supports educational music workshops for hearing-impaired children at the Centre de Logopédie. D’Mina an déi vergiesse Melodie is a music and theatre show based on the work of Beethoven, accessible to hearing and hearing-impaired children, thanks to the participation of professional Luxembourgish artists and a sign language actress.
Based on this creation, the workshops to prepare for the show allow children to listen to, perceive and feel music in their own way, to get to know various musical instruments and to express themselves on music by dancing and singing. The workshop is conducted by the Luxembourg theatre pedagogue Catherine Hengesch, who plays on stage and who co-developed the concept of the show.
In general, this production raises awareness of deafness and underlines the importance of accessibility to artistic productions; accessibility that must be guaranteed to the whole society, including people with special needs. The hearing public (re)discovers sign language as a powerful and surprising tool of expression.

LA RODA
“Bringing together, sharing, creating, exchanging, expressing oneself, interacting and dialoguing” : these are the values of capoeira. Between dance, percussion and music, it inculcates humility, allows the surpassing of oneself and the learning of respect for others. Capoeira has always had the vocation to include and bring people together. Throughout the year 2020, Abadá Capoeira Luxembourg celebrates its 20 years of existence and cultural and social action. In this context, the Sommer Foundation is financing the project “La Roda” (the round, as the participants form a circle) which will culminate in a capoeira show performed with the pupils of the primary school of Bonnevoie-Gellé and the children and teenagers of the Abadá Capoeira Luxembourg club. To prepare for this performance at the primary school of Bonnevoie-Gellé, the pupils are taking classes in capoeira, Afro-Brazilian dances and Brazilian percussion. Through these workshops where “music makes the body speak”, young people from all walks of life are introduced to Afro-Brazilian culture and experience a new space for intercultural exchange. Via “La Roda”, the capoerist apprentices develop their self-esteem and creativity, but also their ability to express themselves and exchange.

TRANSMISSIONS
Between travel story and mythology, the play Ecological Anxiety Disorder plunges young spectators over the age of 14 into a dreamlike and surreal world, an expedition into a world apart, in the very heart of the seventh continent. A plastic continent made up of circular currents in the middle of the ocean. In this terrible relationship with the environment, the boundary between the illusory and the real becomes blurred: the ancestral fears of sea monsters, both frightening and fascinating, re-emerge between the symptoms of this pathology, eco-anxiety.
Far from falling into moralizing traps, this immersion in the abyss takes us on a fascinating scenic journey. In Ecological Anxiety Disorder, the performers take over a synthetic ecosystem in the middle of a lost paradise. An odyssey that is both poetic and disturbing, choreographing body and matter. Thanks to the “Transmissions” project based on the research material of the piece, the artists initiate young teenagers to creation and respect for the environment through a series of scenic workshops: writing, dance and music. Immersing the young people in the heart of the theatrical world and the ecological problems, they open up a dialogue by preparing the young people for the world of the play and by collecting their questions after the creation.

K – D’ÉCOLE
K -D’ÉCOLE is an artistic and cultural education project carried out in parallel with the creation of PROJECT K, and carried out in dialogue with three partners: the Lycée Vauban, the TROIS C-L (Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois) and the company Corps In Situ/ARTEZIA. The aim of this project is to promote creation and transmission by introducing an artistic and professional creation residency in a school, the Lycée Vauban.

BIERGERBÜHN
The Biergerbühn was one of the first projects supported by the Sommer Foundation between 2017 and 2019. Through this participatory project, the collective Independent Little Lies created a space where children and adolescents could discover and exercise their creativity by staging a play that reflected their worldview. During weekly workshops at Kulturfabrik Esch, conducted by theatre and dance teachers, actors, writers, and set designers, the young participants learned about various practices and techniques of the theatre arts, and became authors themselves.
This project was selected by the Sommer Foundation because it saw great value in creating an alternative meeting-space for youngsters in the city of Esch, as such a space would have the potential to enhance the positive dynamic of the city’s cultural life. Thanks to the participatory process and the importance given to dialogue, the participants felt that they were encouraged to be creative, and they were able to grow in terms of their knowledge, artistic skills, and their sense of engagement.