Voimavara! project was about creating innovative and sector-crossing models for collaboration between arts and health care. The project was conducted in spring 2009.
During the project, three applied theatre professionals, Minna Mäkinen, Lotta Ora and Kati Sirén, created several applied theatre workshops for health and social care organizations in Tampere Region. Workshops were held for various groups of citizens including children, mothers, seniors, mentally disabled, rehab patients and mental health patients.
In the workshops, the participants were given the possibility to do simple applied theatre exercises. These exercises were created to offer enjoyment and a tool for exploring things that were meaningful for the patients (dreams, one’s situation in life, strength, etc.)
The feedback from the workshops was extremely good and the project was considered successful. Based on the experiences, it can be stated that there is a clear demand and need for the use of applied theatre in health and social care.
Voimavara! project was funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education.