In today's society, there is an urgent need to continue rethinking the individual, their formation and the construction of their identity as a process in which education through art stands out. In an educational process that doesn't necessarily have to be school-based, the intervention of the social educator is justifiably emphasised - the social mediator acts to empower the individual(s) to become active and autonomous participants in their own development process, which will continue throughout their lives. Social intervention and personal and community/group development provide vulnerable groups with the definition of a path of action that professionals need to explore, but at the same time it brings together the challenge of an area of intervention that is still little known. Social intervention through art enables emancipation, fostering critical reflection and involvement in active civic life. Provoking curiosity, (re)creating community, stimulating expressiveness, raising awareness for transformation, awakening emotions, building passions and establishing links between the Me and the Other, provides pedagogical, aesthetic and artistic experiences that serenely build cohesive identities. By recognising culture and art as disseminators of cultural democracy, a sense of belonging is established in a different model and a desired civic participation is advocated through these ‘new’ relationships and effective institutional mediation. The definition of social policies that stimulate the community towards this relationship with cultural and artistic institutions must create conditions for accessibility, as well as stimulating community artistic practices with the free and conscious participation of the public(s). This justified the intervention of a trainee in Social Education at a Higher Education Institution, in an institution for children and young people at risk, with the following premise: how does social intervention through art enhance social inclusion? And we defined the objectives:
i) to understand the affirmation of the individual through the construction of their identity;
ii) to identify the relationship between personal and community development and their socialisation process; and,
iii) to relate artistic practices to cultural democratic participation through social intervention.

The target audience was 12 users aged between 13 and 20. The intervention took place on a weekly basis over a period of four months. The various activities developed were organised into 3 different areas:
a) proximity between peers;
b) democratic values and participatory citizenship; and
c) artistic creation.

These activities focused on: promoting proximity and reflection, fostering socialisation between peers and encouraging active participation through culture and art. The trainee's logbook entries confirmed the relevance of art-making and its correlation with artistic appreciation. Another evaluation was carried out through an interactive satisfaction survey, in which the users expressed an interest in continuing the group work, demonstrating the level of attention and conquest through dialogue with the other elements. There was a growing sense of self-knowledge and personal appreciation, recognising culture and artistic practice as a need for every individual to affirm their identity. The figure of the social educator was confirmed as having a fundamental role in reducing asymmetries, as stated in the Porto Santo Charter 2021.

Keywords: Art, education, identity construction, social integration.