The vulnerable individuals with different special care and different degrees of disability, experience the encounter with the clown through the play. Professional artists, through openness and availability, seek the transformation of the vulnerable individuals, in dialogue and play with kindness and joy. This way we provide the exploration of new forms of expression and encounter, well-being and the activation of communication resources.

Évora and Odemira, two rural villages in Portugal, Alentejo

In an increasingly aging society were the rhythm of live is getting faster and faster, old people are often left alone and live with little means and under difficult conditions. The only contact with culture is through television. The relations with the revised staff is often superficial and cold.

Our target groups are elders in residential care homes. People are often excluded from society at the end of their lives. The modern small family has no financial options, no living space and no time for sharing their live with older members of the family. The old-age pension are small and the live quality low.

Making contact with the institutions, meetings with the stuff to know the necessity of the peoples, the space and the team. Find out the best day and time to organize the visit of the Clowns. Starting a regular program of clown visits to create relations, confidence and contact to the elder people.

Increased well-being.
Increased self-esteem.
Personal appreciation of the elderly person.
Integration and acceptance by the community of the elder persons.
Increasing life quality of elders and health professionals.
Transformation of the field, more humane conditions
Increased public interesse of the situation of elder people vulnerable situations

By raising awareness of the situations of social isolation and lack of authentic encounters of people in residential care homes and with disabilities in the population. We are planning a dissemination of the project through the social networks and a photographic exhibition that documents moments of the encounter between the vulnerable people and the community. Interventions in lectures / conferences.

There is a clown in each of us. We pretend to promote the therapeutic use and effect of humour, authentic encounter and anchoring in the here and now. This skill will develop auto irony and the competence to cope with humour and will provide transcendence and faith. Research has shown that humour helps us cope with pain, stress and adversity and what is more, Liukkonen (1994) found that humour is a meaningful factor in the day-to-day interaction of nurses and patients and more generally in patients’ overall wellbeing and ability to cope with illness.

- Annual presence, once a week, two Clowns, two residential care homes - 24 000,00 €
- Annual salary of the artistic director 7 200,00 €
- Psychogerentology consulting 1 500,00 €
- Annual salary administrative work – 6 000.00 €
- Fund for external training - € 2 500.00
- Dissemination, webside, Fotos exhibition – 3 500,00 €
- Other expenses: 1 500,00 €

Total - 46 200,00 €

We always very greatful vor any inspirations and feedbacks that could help us to improve our ideias and dreams.