Paulo Bareicha

2.4 The Nose and the Territory of Appearance Disorganization (Paper) – virtual

Paulo Bareicha – University of Brasilia, Brazil – virtual

Abstract:

Project pedagogy (Fernando Hernandez) proposes a transversal approach that encourages student engagement based on their own intentions, culture, and perspectives. This paper aims to describe Ecopedagogical Theater, an interdisciplinary project developed at the University of Brasília (UnB), which integrated university teaching with basic education. Nicolai Gogol’s short story The Nose was adapted into a play by performing arts students, who researched 19th-century Russian history and customs, resulting in the creation of five characters. This type of adaptation is common in art classes during the second cycle of primary and secondary education, and the proposal was supported by public schools.

The project involved three teachers and twenty students from UnB, reaching twenty schools and approximately 500 basic education students. In the story, a character wakes up without his nose and searches for it in places like medicine, journalism, and public health. Just as he is about to give up, he finds it and converses with his own nose. Participants were encouraged to enter the scene by taking on the role of someone who had lost their nose, using methodologies from Augusto Boal (Theatre of the Oppressed) and J. L. Moreno (Theatre of Spontaneity).

Bringing this narrative into their own life contexts led to the emergence of new dialogues and perspectives, updating the story to reflect the students’ present experiences. In the discussions following the performances, topics included recognizing what is missing in life, what is sought, what becomes visible, and what remains unseen. Through project pedagogy in the arts, it was possible to explore unconventional territories, transforming the classroom into a space for inquiry and learning.

2.5 Biographical Engagement in the Arts Class:  A Collective Construction of Professional Identity (Paper) – virtual

Paulo Bareicha – University of Brasilia, Brazil – virtual

Abstract:

The aim of this article is to describe and discuss the process of collective creation in an arts class during the final semester of the pedagogy course at the University of Brasília. The importance of arts education in the pedagogy curriculum has been widely debated—on one hand, because of the teacher’s responsibility for educating young children up to ten years old, and on the other, due to the limited experience and depth in artistic languages typically included in their training. Drawing on the concepts of “social implication” (Vincent de Gaulejac) and “pedagogy of hope” (Paulo Freire), this experience report emphasizes the importance of engaged participation, particularly through the inclusion of autobiography as a pedagogical strategy in art-based research and teaching.

The process spanned 30 hours and involved 18 participants. It began with the creation of self-portraits and personal reflections on their experiences with art, serving as a means of self-presentation. By identifying gaps or inequalities in their past art education, a collective body self-image was formed—one that sought to visually interpret the concept of “pedagogue.” After agreeing on an initial design, each participant created a variation on the same theme. Each individual piece revealed different aspects of their arts education—social, family, cultural, pedagogical, didactic, or religious—resulting in a mosaic that reinterpreted the original theme. This collaborative work, measuring 2 x 2 meters, was displayed in the central corridor for public viewing.

The project supports existing literature on the challenges of teaching art within pedagogy training programs. At the same time, it offers new perspectives on cultural relativism and the creation of didactic strategies grounded in autobiographical engagement.