Cadavre Exquis

Step 1 – Introduction

• Participants write their names on sticky name tags and wear them.
• Educator and learners introduce themselves and tell a few fun facts about themselves as ice breaker.
• Educator briefly introduces the activity
  • they introduce the Surrealists to give context and explain the playfulness of the task
  • they explain the task a) how to create a Cadavre Exquis and b) how to create a character / persona for it

Step 2 – Drawing Monsters

• The educator hands out papers, pens, pencils and further material like sharpeners, rubbers etc.
• Each learner takes a sheet of paper and begins by drawing a head and neck, then folds the paper so that only a small part of the neck remains visible.
• Learners pass the folded paper to the next learner, who draws the torso, folds it again—leaving only a hint of the torso visible—and hands it to their neighbour.
• This process continues as each learner adds a section: one draws the legs, another the feet. Finally, the completed drawing returns to the original artist-learner who started with the head, revealing the finished collaborative creation.

Step 3 – Presentation

• Revealing the Monsters: The learners unfold their monster and exchange them with each other (usually this part is always very surprising and fun)
• Then each learner has the task to give their monster a personality containing a name, age, origin, hobbies etc. until a well-developed persona has been created. This happens in written form.
• After the monster’s persona is created everyone presents their monster to the crowd – this can be done by pinning the monster on a wall so that everyone can see it (or it can be projected if that is possible)
• While everyone is presenting their monster, the educator writes down words that are important for understanding and everyday use. They have to take care that every learner understands the persona description of the monster and help out if vocabulary is unclear.

Step 4 – Final Recap and Feedback

• Reflection and discussion round: everyone who wants can give feedback on the activity and answer questions such as “What surprised them? What did they learn? etc.
• By the end of the workshop the learners have learned about Surrealist Art technique called Cadavre Exquis, they have artistically co-created a monster, and they have written and verbalised a character / persona, which they have read in front of the whole group in the target language.
• The educator has written down new or difficult words, which the learners can learn as new vocabulary.