Rabbits and chickens came to life in the hands of children and young people from the theatre group at the chitalishte on 20 June. The initiative was part of the project Workshop for puppets. This is the third project of the chitalishte, which gathers young people with impaired hearing from the specialised school in town with actors from the theatre group. The project is aimed at integrating children and young people with impaired hearing through art. The workshop made it possible for the children with impaired hearing to work together with their hearing peers and to see how different puppets came to life and to colour, cut and paste, sew the puppets themselves. Two big puppets were made during the project – a fox and a wolf, which were used for a new theatre performance. At the performance – exhibition the children demonstrated the skills they acquired last year in leading the puppets as well as dancing and performing in costumes made during the current project implementation.

More than 20 young people with impaired hearing had the opportunity to leave the closed environment of the specialised school and to communicate with their peers through the means of art. About 45 young people improved their language and behaviour skill as well as their abilities to perform; the project developed their imagination and changed their attitude towards those who are different than them and made them more tolerant. We managed to attract more than 40 children with impaired hearing who attended the improvised theatre performances at the specialised school. The project promoted a new type of activity for the children and young people – making puppets with which they can continue to work even after the project ends. We made 45 puppets - gloves, wooden spoons, marionettes and two professional ones. Some of the puppets will be used in the future work of the chitalishte, others we have donated to the art therapy department at the specialised school. Six new stage costumes have been made which will be used in the future too. In conclusion it can be said that the integration among children and young people with impaired hearing and their peers became a fact as a result of the project and the mediation of art.