‘Clownexus’, an artistic response to dementia and autism

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People with dementia is a target group of Clownexus. Source: Pallapupas

In the project ‘Clowning Connects Us – ClowNexus’ (2020-2023), eight European Healthcare Clown Organisations are collaborating to facilitate access to arts and participatory clown activities for vulnerable groups.

Eight European Healthcare Clown Organisations have launched ‘Clownexus’, a project that wants to tackle a lack of interactive artistic performances developed with and for people with dementia and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The project will facilitate transnational artistic laboratories where clowning artists from different organisations will exchange on good practices and develop new methodologies to co-create with people with dementia and children with ASD, based on state-of-the-art education and with the collaboration of international experts.

The new artistics formats develop in these workshops will be created with the sensitive involvement of the target groups, parents, and caretakers.

The relevant role of healthcare clowning organisations

For more than 25 years, healthcare clowning organisations in Europe are reaching out to children in hospitals, and more recently also to elderly people, children with disabilities, refugees, and other vulnerable groups. The artistic interventions have increasingly become recognized as complementary approach in health and social care.

‘Clownexus’ also aims to place value on the full potential of clowning art for the health and well-being of European citizens.

The project is co-funded by the European Union as part of the Creative Europe programme.