Fundación Ramón Rey Ardid: Espacio Visiones, an empowerment project through art https://visionesemergentes.org

Espacio Visiones is a place for artistic expression within Fundación Rey Ardid that promotes the creativity and empowerment of people with disabilities associated with a problem of severe mental suffering through citizen participation, collaboration with cultural spaces and regional artists and accompaniment in alternative itineraries of socio labour insertion through art and culture. In other words, a space for meeting and participation in the community with a different role in which to discover, accompany and support the person, providing them with the tools and disciplines that art offers us to develop and give oneself value and social validation through one's own creations.

Visiones Emergentes provides, among others, a virtual site in which to exhibit the works of the different artists and to bring them out of anonymity as creators and citizens who contribute to add social valueto our societies. This also serves to improve their autonomy, participation and empowerment and to increase the scope of some of the activities of this artistic resource of the Foundation, such as the community exhibition showcase (24-hour street showroom), the exhibitions of individual and collective work in different spaces and the collaborative projects with different artists, events for which it won in 2018 the Aragon Social Responsibility Award in the category of social initiatives with "A través del cristal”.

Integrating the needs and different abilities of people and ensuring that access to the website and its content is accessible and inclusive for everyone, its design complies with the AA accessibility criteria (it contains a tool that allows to increase or decrease the size of the text, invert the foreground and background colours (negative contrast), increase the contrast of the colours or replace the dark background colours with light ones, underline the texts or images on which the user can click to be directed to other different content, replace the font used on the website with one that is easy to read...).

Having a virtual standardisation platform such as this one, where the artistic itineraries and collaborations of the project's participants can be shown in a professional, sustainable and accessible way, makes it possible to increase its digital and community projection. It also aims to connect with other national and international art platforms and increase the type of audiences, adding value to their work and enhancing their role as artists.Responsible Department or Unit Mental health area of Rey Ardid FoundationTarget group/s People with a disability associated to a problem of severe mental suffering.Methodologies and approaches used to develop and carry out the initiative; service/s or activities that were developedThe project's intervention methodology is based on three principles:- Horizontality of knowledge, accompaniment in artistic processes, non-judgement and freedom of expression.- Participation of the beneficiaries in all phases of the project.- Co-creation between all the actors involved (beneficiaries, professionals, artists and collaborators).This contributes to improving autonomy and empowerment, if we understand empowerment as overcoming a situation of impotence and 4acquiring control of one's own life, containing four dimensions: selfconfidence, participation in decisions, dignity and respect, and belonging and contributing to a more plural society.This methodology arises from the research based on the systematisation of experience model that was carried out in 2017 together with the Professional Association of Social Work of Aragon, University of Zaragoza and Incyde. This process involved users, professionals, collaborators and experts to understand how the development of artistic creation helps in the processes of social inclusion and empowerment of people with mental illness.Of the activities that have arisen, between 2019 and 2023, 23 exhibitions have been held in different cultural spaces, 15 collaborations with local artists have been made, and we have had 64 exhibitions in the Espacio Visiones exhibition showcase, 31 of them of people with mental suffering. On the other hand, 28 exhibitions have been held in rural areas and collaboration has taken place with 60 organisations. Finally, the virtual service created was the accessible website that serves as a display and archive of all these collections, as well as a platform for direct contact with the artists.Elements of innovation and creativityAt Rey Ardid we work in an innovative way to improve the autonomy and skills of people with mental suffering. In fact, Espacio Visiones, born in 2009, is a pioneering project in the Spanish region of Aragon and was conceived as a space for social inclusion through art and citizen participation, with a strong collaborative vocation with different community actors, which served to generate innovative methodologies, systematise experiences and demonstrate their usefulness for the development of the autonomy of these people and for the collective empowerment that their social participation can generate. To focus on the double task of the work carried out through art: on the one hand, the proven effectiveness of this type of intervention at a therapeutic level; on the other hand, the fight against stigma through the enhancement of the artistic creation skills of the project's beneficiaries, strengthening their role as artists. In addition, the creation of a virtual artistic space (through the Visiones Emergentes website) combines the technological, the digital, with the manual creations based on this work methodology, which is an innovative element in accordance with the new realities in which we live.How did the initiative demonstrate that it follows a rights-based approach?We start from the premise of mental health as a fundamental element of general health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective capacities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world in which we live. Not only that, but it is a fundamental human 5right and essential for personal, community and socio-economic development, as established by the World Health Organisation. Within this framework, Espacio Visiones was born in 2009 as a centre oriented to artistic creation in the line of Art Brut /Outsider and free creation in mental health, following the guideline set by Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts [...]".Specifically, this article establishes that States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to develop and use their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society. This is a key point from which the project arises, emphasising the fact that not only does intervention through art serve to improve people with mental health, but also that banning them from creative and exhibition spaces impoverishes our societies.Staff and resources (skills qualifications, infrastructure, materials) mobilisedIn terms of infrastructure, the Espacio Visiones centre itself stands out, located in the historic centre of Zaragoza, specifically in the San Pablo neighbourhood, one of the oldest in the city and characterised by multiculturalism and a consolidated social fabric. The resource has professionals specialised in inclusion and mental health, as well as volunteer support staff, in addition to the artists themselves, who transcend the concept of users. To this is added the creation of the virtual space through the website "Visiones Emergentes".Specifically, with regard to human resources, the figure of the coordinator stands out, with a Social Work profile and with tasks of general coordination of the project, support in the contribution of content to the website, attracting non-formal spaces such as exhibition spaces and monitoring the signing of agreements, as well as managing the participation of all the actors in the project and continuous evaluation; the monitors to accompany users in the artistic, training and digital processes; and the volunteers, some of whom belong to the European Solidarity Corps, who collaborate in the logistical support for the installation of the exhibitions and support the monitors in the different artistic activities. A communications and project management technician, a cultural manager and a communications expert were also involved in the development of the website.Were specific needs of the target group/s identified or people with a disability consulted in the realization of the initiative? If This project responds to a need to promote autonomy, social inclusion and claim a space for citizenship for a group historically marginalised by the false stigma of "dangerousness" and incapacity associated with mental illness, for whom public mental health care policies only articulate health resources and offer few social and educational 6yes, how? (co-production approach)alternatives to achieve effective community integration and social participation.The users of the project participate in all the creative processes from beginning to end, contributing ideas for the development of new group or individual projects, deciding on the type of work and technique to be used, the title, as well as making contributions during their evolution, especially in the presentation of their creations, where they are the real protagonists (they collaborate in the preparation of the exhibitions, present their work at the openings and on occasions have remained at these to explain the creative process, have been interviewed in the media, have participated in talks, round tables...). They participate in the dissemination of the events through their networks and by distributing posters around the neighbourhood and centres of interest...).A meeting is held at the beginning of the year to evaluate the previous year's activities and jointly decide on the annual planning, and another in July to monitor what has been carried out and to evaluate new proposals, if any. In the creation of the website, users also took an active part in the design and planning of the project, as well as in its continuous evaluation.Were other stakeholders or partners (employers, families, associations, informal network, etc.) involved? If yes, how?Espacio Visiones, from its vocation of being a meeting place, has always promoted collaboration with different groups, entities, areas... consolidating values of solidarity and ecological awareness. In the planning, it is key to establish stable relationships with different cultural and artistic spaces where the creations of the users can be projected, thus fulfilling the objective of participation as citizens in the cultural offer of the city. We highlight: - Social and disability collectives (FORUM, ATADES, Proyecto Hombre, Colectivo SuMma...).- Educational sphere (School of Design, San Jorge University, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Dinámica, Secondary Schools...).- Citizen sphere (Homage to the victims of the Holocaust, Markets of the 13th in Museums of Aragon, collaborations in the Integral Plan for the Historical Quarter, Opendoor...).- Artistic field (collaborations with Aragonese artists, projects Musethica, Escuela de Violería, Trayectos Danza, Intervenciones Sin Huella and Festival Periferias in its 2011 Outsider Edition, as well as in the Festival por la Salud Mental y las Artes del Pirineo (FESMAP), among others).For the methodological part, we received training and advice from INCYDE, in collaboration with the Professional Association of Social Workers of Aragon.7For volunteering, apart from the organisation's own, we collaborate with the Aragonese Association of Volunteering for the dissemination, recruitment of volunteers and exchange of good practices, as well as with the European Solidarity Corps through the Eurosensibiliza2 project on inclusion, in which several young Europeans participate every year.In addition, an annual satisfaction survey is carried out for users and families.MONITORING AND EVALUATIONWhat have been the mainimpacts on your users/clients, staff and the organisation?At the user level, it achieves greater projection of the artist and their works, as well as greater autonomy, since other channels of contact are offered that reach the creator directly, without the need for intermediation on the part of the Foundation (for example, through the artist's social networks, if they have them). At the organisational level, Visiones Emergentes provides a digital extension of the exhibition showcase through which the different collections and works of local artists have been shown. It also serves as a virtual library in which to collect all this material and make it available to the general public, which gives greater visibility to the work carried out and to the work of the organisation itself and its position with regard to mental health. In short, once the project has been consolidated, we highlight two issues: the validation after the pandemic of the effectiveness of artistic activity, even online, to maintain cohesion, alleviate isolation and maintain habits and skills of daily life and, on the other hand, the need expressed by users, collaborators and citizens to generate digital platforms that provide greater dissemination to the project and empower users as artists, graphically collecting all the artistic work done so far that would otherwise be lost and where to keep future works available to all audiences, generating new audiences through the accessibility of the same to people with severe mental suffering.How are you measuring/assessing whether the service/initiative is implementing some or all the key factors characterising the rightsbased framework? Do you have any evidence or studies to show the impact?Together with the evaluation of the actions and their results through quantitative indicators, within the framework of Espacio Visiones we have carried out a qualitative evaluation of the impact of the artistic activities on the evolution of the participants affected by a mental illness, with the methodology of systematisation of social work practice, for which we received training and advice from INCYDE, an entity specialised in this evaluation methodology, with the collaboration of the Professional Association of Social Workers of Aragon. With the systematisation process, it has been possible, on a theoretical level, to extract keys to design our own qualitative 8evaluation methodology, to draw up lessons and recommendations on individual and collective empowerment through art for people with disabilities due to mental illness, to provide feedback on our daily practice and to identify keys that allow us to replicate similar experiences in other organisations, institutions and foundations. In addition, an annual satisfaction survey is carried out for users and families, where, with data from March 2021, the overall satisfaction level of users was 83% and that of families, 90%.What are, in your experience, the “success factors” or support measures which allowed your organisation to realize users’ inclusion, independence, participation and access toservices?Firstly, it is important to highlight the approach from which we work. A broader view that focuses on the community rather than the individual, working with the person but in relation to his or her context, favours a more effective and lasting intervention in the long term. The conception of the user as an artist and not as a patient also breaks the moulds from which it is customary to work with these people. In short, our model of intervention, which from the outset has been a firm commitment to horizontality in care, replacing the traditional hierarchical models of care and distribution of knowledge with accompaniment in the processes of empowerment of people with mental suffering through the transfer of knowledge, with the participation of the beneficiaries in all phases of the projects and the generation of spaces for the exchange of ideas between all the actors involved to promote the reconstruction of a new life project through artother than that of a person with a mental illness. In this context, art is an ideal tool to achieve this objective because it allows for the generation of a climate of non-judgement and freedom that boosts self-esteem, initiative, autonomy, decision-making and, in short, empowerment.Also noteworthy is the work with a gender perspective, through actions such as giving priority when it comes to exhibiting women, trying to break the existing gender gap in art, or the creation of the Women's Group.What were, in your experience, the biggest hurdles or problems which made implementing rights-based approach to service creation, production and deliverydifficult to be developed or put in place?The stigma associated with this group continues to cause rejection and generates few possibilities for socialisation in normalised environments. On the other hand, these are people who have insufficient specialised social resources available to them to attend to their needs once they have completed their rehabilitation process, a fact that is even more pressing in rural Spain, where depopulation and geographical dispersion make it difficult to establish this type of resource. Not only that, but most of them are also aimed at people with intellectual, physical or sensory disabilities. Progress in terms of rights is also hindered by the very terminology with which we refer to people: "handicap", "disability"... which speak of a person's inferiority, of deficiencies, instead of focusing on abilities and hindering the processes of validation, normalisation and inclusion of people.9In addition, when carrying out certain activities that fall within the intervention carried out by Espacio Visiones, barriers have been encountered in the accessibility of the spaces, many of which are not adapted to the different needs of people. Reluctance has also been encountered when it comes to obtaining the accessibility guides for these places, which were initially public. In this sense, studies have been carried out by the Rey Ardid Foundation which in the end have led, among other actions, to the creation of a cultural space accessible to all, in this case through the Visiones Emergentes website.FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS AND TRANSFERABILITYHow do you see the initiative developing in the future?The expected results of the initiative are the achievement of greater autonomy and/or independence of the artists in their creative facet; the expansion of collaborators, both artists with mental suffering and artists with other disabilities, and other artists and social and cultural entities of the territory. Furthermore, the extension of the territory covered, maintaining the participation of the rural environment from our resources in Calatayud and incorporating the national and international projection, through the web and new European projects that promote inclusion and empowerment through art.What are the major future challenges you see in relation to the initiative, for your users/clients, staff and organisation and for employers? How does your organisation try to overcome them?Training in new technologies for artists to improve the digital divide and enable them to participate on an equal footing with the rest of the public, as many of them do not know how to use social networks or even how to use mobile or technological devices. In this respect, action measures have already been taken, training those who wish to do so in the use of these devices and in the functioning of social networks (for example, Instagram, as it is one of the platforms that allows for greater projection of artists and their works) through workshops on new technologies, but it is necessary to continue implementing training and support resources to achieve this.At the moment, the Foundation, within the national platform ISEM, participates in the DIGISEM project: Network actions for digital transformation focused on improving the quality of life and care of people with mental health problems and the implementation of digital strategies for the management and internal and external transfer of knowledge in third sector entities. Through this project, different training and pilot actions will be developed in the use of different digital tools that will help us to meet this challenge.Do you think the initiative could work in another country? If so, which aspect/s and why?The ultimate aim has been to implement a methodology of intervention through art, culture and citizen participation in mental health that promotes autonomy and fights stigma in mental health, that is sustainable, replicable and that becomes another cultural resource for 10the community. Improved scalability was always present, increasing dissemination, involvement, interaction and participation with a wider range of partners, including those outside the national context.It is an easily replicable initiative: art is a tool for social and labour inclusion that is widely recognised and used throughout the world and the projection offered by creating a virtual space in which to promote the work of people with mental health problems as artists, not as "sick people", is in line with the strategies of fighting stigma and promoting and vindicating the social and cultural value that this group brings to our societies. In fact, at national level, the Espacio Visiones art intervention project has been replicated in rural areas and in another capital city, Valencia, through the State Reference Centre for Psychosocial Care for people with severe mental disorders. At European level, several projects have been developed (Erasmus+ and Creative Europe): Artbilities (Everyone is an artist) and Delyramus, collaborating with different countries, generating a website where there is a section entitled inclusive culture, which allows for the dissemination of entities from any European country that develop similar projects (https://delyramus.eu/cultura-inclusiva/).POLICYHow would you describe your organisation’s cooperation and dialogue with policy makersand/or public authorities as to adaptations you had to make?Since the beginning of Espacio Visiones, the Government of Aragon and the City Council of Zaragoza have supported its development both in the annual funding since 2009 in the case of the City Council and by supporting the application for funding for start-up and subsequent development through related projects (European projects Erasmus+ and Creative Europe, La Caixa Foundation, Caja Madrid, Vinci Foundation...) in the case of the Government of Aragon.On the other hand, the Government of Aragon, through the Aragonese Institute of Social Services (Instituto Aragonés de Servicios Sociales) agreed individual care itineraries in an occupational centre in this resource. However, this agreement is not very effective in supporting the social inclusion and empowerment of people with mental suffering, as it is limited to people with intellectual disabilities, rejecting access to it for people with disabilities due to mental illness.Have there been changes in legislation or regulations that positively or negatively affected the realization of rights-based services? If so, could you briefly describe what changed and with what effect for your In recent years, as a result of the pandemic, the need for care and promotion of people with mental suffering has begun to form part of the public and social discourse throughout Europe, but in Spain and especially in Aragon, it has not gone beyond a declaration of intentions that has not been translated into a substantial, planned and coordinated increase in health and social resources.11users/clients, staff, organisation and employers.At the health level, the Mental Health Plan 2022-2025 includes among its strategic lines both the attention to different groups (childhood and adolescence, severe mental disorder, psychogeriatrics...) and different levels of intervention (rehabilitation, prevention, awarenessraising...), so the Government of Aragon is more open to supporting initiatives of the Third Sector within these lines. However, there is no funding or planning to generate resources, especially in lines related to prevention and inclusion. In this sense, there is no collaboration between the Department of Mental Health and the Aragonese Institute of Social Services to work together on the social needs of this group and to implement specific regulations and social resources that favour inclusion and equal opportunities.On the other hand, there has been an important advance in (national) legislation by understanding people with disabilities as subjects of rights, and not objects of care, a change that has facilitated other more effective and respectful intervention frameworks for the person.What would need to change in funding, policy and regulatory frameworks to better support people with disabilities’ rights?There is a need for a real awareness of the importance of mental health, not only on an individual level, but as a social problem that affects the communities of which we are a part. While it is true that mental health is a growing issue in Spain and that it has managed to be included on the political agenda, little real action has been taken. On the other hand, trying to tackle a collective problem with individualistic solutions (for example, putting all the weight on the recruitment of more psychology professionals) does not attack the root of the phenomenon and, therefore, does not help to mitigate it but in the short term. In addition to the articulation of more health resources, it is necessary to create social and educational alternatives that allow for the integration and social participation of this group.On the other hand, most social resources are focused on people with intellectual, physical or sensory disabilities, leaving people with mental illness or psychological suffering only with a public care network focused on improving the symptoms of their illness without taking into account the need to specifically address the social and labour inclusion needs of these people, favouring their empowerment and participation in public life. It is usually third sector organisations, supported by the social work of the business sector or the banking sector, that develop innovative resources to fill in the gap.