Murals and Literature: Creating Digital Works for Educational Contexts

Following the project “Inanimate Alice: Translation of Literature for an Educational Context”, carried out within the “Digital Mediation and Materialities of Literature” research group, at the Centre for Portuguese Literature, we intend to develop a digital work for children. To this end, taking as an example the printed book História do Capuchinho Vermelho Contada a Crianças e Nem por Isso, written by Manuel António Pina, inspired by paintings by Paula Rego, three literary texts will be created based on murals (1958) by the painter Costa Pinheiro (1932-2015) that were commissioned for three kindergarten rooms of the Instituto Maternal Bissaya Barreto in Coimbra. (*)

The animation of the images from these paintings will be designed according to three levels of reading difficulty, directed at three age groups: a digital album, for 4-year-olds; a generative poem based on traditional Portuguese oral literature, for 6-year-olds; and an interactive narrative, for 11-year-olds. Although the mural images are especially suited for little children, it is possible to write a story that is adapted to students of the 2nd cycle of studies, similarly, for example, to A Menina do Mar, by Sophia by Mello Breyner Andresen. This project will be collaboratively developed by a team of six people, with diverse skills, with the aim of creating the graphic design, developing the programming code, composing the three texts, and preparing their didacticization.

(*) Currently leased to ANIP (National Association of Early Intervention), at Rua Augusta (Maternidade Bissaya Barreto) 3000-061.