The ANIMA Artistic and Creative Education Centre was founded in 1986. Its training is aimed at education professionals and / or those engaged in organizing artistic activities, ie primary and secondary educators, performance studies majors, musicologists, social workers, psychologists, actors, dancers, special educators and others.
It was founded by Marina Sotiropoulou - Zormpala, Professor at the University of Crete.
The objective of the ANIMA centre is INCLUSION OF ARTS IN EDUCATION. The seminars and lessons taught concern the performing arts and in particular topics such as:
Drama in education
Bodily expression – Improvisation
Music
Dance Movement
Drama therapy
Art in education
The operation of the ANIMA centre began in 1986 in the neoclassical building of 56 Ag. Meletiou Street. In 1990, it changed location to a privately-owned building on 29 Evelpidon Street, where it still operates today.
ANIMA centre’s activities are characterized by an ever-increasing extroversion. In this context, the centre has collaborated with institutions from Greece and abroad. Also, crucial in the history of the ANIMA centre have been the scientific and educational meetings that ANIMA organizes and carries out every year in order to disseminate the activities, the pedagogical material produced by the instructors and the students, and the spirit of action that it professes and adopts. Some events indicative of the last decade include:
- The educational meeting on "Art in Education", (Theater ANIMA, 6/2006).
- The educational meeting on "Art in Education. Special Topics ", (Museum of Cycladic Art, 5/2007).
- The scientific symposium on "When art brings change to education. School and Museum ", co-organized with the Laboratory of Music and Psychomotor Education of the Department of Preschool Education (University of Crete) and the Museum of Cycladic Art (French Institute of Athens, 5/2008).
- The 2nd Educational Workshop on "When Art brings change to Education. Environmental Education and Arts ", co-organized with the Goulandris Natural History Museum - Gaia Center (French Institute of Athens, 5/2009).
- The 3rd Educational Workshop on "When art brings change to education. Teaching through Art in Greece and France ". The conference was co-organized with the French Embassy (French Institute of Athens, 5/2010).
- The 4th Annual Educational Workshop on "When art brings change to education. Presentation of Educational Material ", co-organized with the French Institute of Athens (French Institute of Athens, 5/2011).
- The 6th Annual Educational Workshop on "When art brings change to education. Aesthetic Education of Teachers ", co-organized by the French Institute of Athens (French Institute, 5/2013).
- The 7th Annual Educational Workshop on "When art brings change to education. Language-Teaching through Art ", co-organized with the Laboratory of Pedagogical Research and Applications and the Laboratory of Music and Psychomotor Education of the Department of Preschool Education (University of Crete) (French Institute, 17/5/2014).
- The 8th annual educational meeting on "When art brings change to education. Diversity ", which took place at Argo Theater (28/5/2016).
A crucial moment of the ANIMA centre was the founding of the ANIMA Theater for Knowledge, the performances of which were attended by many thousands of children in the public and private schools of Attiki and Euboea and in various theaters (Altera Pars Theater, Knossos Theater, Argo Theater, Chytirio Theater, etc.).
