“The circus of all magic”: a university extension experience at a fishermen’s community

Abstract

This article aims at contributing with some reflections on the use of artistic languages in extension interventions, according to the report of a university extension experience in which an event was produced with a group of children and adolescents living in a fishermen’s community on the North coast of Paraíba State. The workshops held with this group aimed at stimulating their reading habits and their social leadership. Children and adolescents of both genders, ages ranging from three to fourteen years old were divided into three subgroups, according to their ages. Alongside the artistic languages, participative methodology of popular education, social and technical reading strategies were used. The aim was to foster critical thinking, collective participation, and creativity among the participants, and to contribute to more ethical and solidarity-oriented attitudes, as well as to the development of the extension workers. The event also included some circus, dance and theatrical activities and emphasized the relevance of group work and of art as methodological resources aimed at a psychosocial extension practice.