Skip to content
1981
Politicizing Artistic Pedagogies: Publics, Spaces, Teachings
  • ISSN: 2042-793X
  • E-ISSN: 2042-7948

Abstract

This article explores the possibilities of using critical pedagogy inside and outside the art school to counter the effects of neoliberalism. Developed from an initial transcript of a conversation between three graduates of the Royal College of Art (United Kingdom) about our education-as-art projects, it takes the form of a constructed dialogue that mirrors our approach to working collectively. We discuss particular issues that arose for us whilst studying, as we experienced how the neo-liberal art school conceptualized a form of education and arts practice that promoted individualized paths and set competitive dynamics between students. We are interested in how art practices characterized as being social, collaborative and democratic can resist the neo-liberal art school. Advocating for process-based methods that facilitate learning between groups of students, we aim to open up space for embodied and situated knowledges. Bringing critical pedagogical approaches to the of the university creates a porosity with the alternatives we experienced outside. Through re-practicing historically radical methods and creating supportive structures, we challenge the dominant ways of communicating and managing the student-body. We argue that students and artists can organize their own cultures of learning in opposition to those that the university-as-business wants to promote, whilst creating supportive models that take students’ needs into account.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/aps_00064_1
2021-11-01
2024-12-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. AltMFA ( 2021;), ‘ Home page. ’, https://altmfa.blogspot.com/. Accessed 10 May 2021.
  2. Barrett, D.. ( 2013;), ‘ Disrupting art education. ’, Art Monthly, 366, p. 34.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Boal, A.. ( 2002), Games for Actors and Non-actors, New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Busby, M.. ( 2020;), ‘ Schools in England told not to use material from anti-capitalist groups. ’, The Guardian, 27 September, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/sep/27/uk-schools-told-not-to-use-anti-capitalist-material-in-teaching. Accessed 10 May 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. The Care Collective ( 2020), The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence, London:: Verso;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Edginton, S., and Hartley, N.. ( 2020;), ‘ Radical alternatives born in the death throes of capitalism. ’, interviewed by D. Redfern and S. Murphy, RMIT School of Art Graduate Festival , 9 December, https://artgradfest.rmit.edu.au/event/radical-alternatives-altmfa. Accessed 10 May 2021.
  7. Equal Voices in the Room? ( 2019;), ‘ Home page. ’, https://equalvoices.wixsite.com/equal. Accessed 2 June 2021.
  8. Freeman, J.. ( 1972;), ‘ The tyranny of structurelessness. ’, Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 17, pp. 15164.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Freire, P.. ( [1970] 2017), Pedagogy of the Oppressed (trans. M. Bergman Ramos.), London:: Penguin;.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Gilbert, J.. ( 2021;), ‘ The commons, the public, and the aesthetics of solidarity. ’, in C. Sollfrank,, F. Stalder, and S. Niederberger. (eds), Aesthetics of the Commons, Berlin:: Diaphanes;, pp. 6379.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Hamilton, M.. ( 2020;), ‘ Resisting neoliberalism in education: Resources of hope. ’, Lancaster Literacy Research Centre , 24 January, http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/literacy-research-centre/2020/01/24/resisting-neoliberalism-in-education-resources-of-hope/. Accessed 10 June 2021.
  12. Hastings, M.. ( 2019;), ‘ Neoliberalism and education. ’, in Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of Education, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, 23 May, https://oxfordre.com/education/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-404. Accessed 10 June 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Ingleby, E.. ( 2015;), ‘ The house that Jack built: Neoliberalism, teaching in higher education and the moral objections. ’, Teaching in Higher Education, 20:5, pp. 51829.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Maisuria, A., and Cole, M.. ( 2017;), ‘ The neoliberalization of higher education in England: An alternative is possible. ’, Policy Futures in Education, 15:5, pp. 60219.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Moi, T.. ( 2003;), ‘ Discussion or aggression? Arrogance and despair in graduate school. ’, The Grind, The Duke Graduate School Magazine , July, http://www.torilmoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Moi_Arrogance-and-despair_2003.pdf. Accessed 28 June 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. SOAS Students Union ( 2019;), ‘ Attainment gap. ’, SOAS Union , 28 December, https://soasunion.org/liberation/attainmentgap/. Accessed 18 June 2021.
  17. Social Practice Group ( 2021;), ‘ Home page. ’, https://socialpracticegrouprca.tumblr.com. Accessed 10 May 2021.
  18. Stroh, L.. ( 2021;), ‘ Emergent utopias: Three experiments in alternative art education: The black school, 2727 California Street, and school of the alternative. ’, Art and Education , April, https://www.artandeducation.net/schoolwatch/390502/emergent-utopias-three-experiments-in-alternative-art-education-the-black-school-2727-california-street-and-school-of-the-alternative. Accessed 10 May 2021.
  19. Thompson, T. S., and Harney, S.. ( 2018;), ‘ Ground provisions. ’, Afterall, 45, pp. 12025.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Edginton, Sadie,, Parry, Alex, and Östholm, Cicilia. ( 2021;), ‘ Structures within structures: Examining alternative cultures of learning in the institution. ’, Art & the Public Sphere, 10:2, pp. 26574, https://doi.org/10.1386/aps_00064_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/aps_00064_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/aps_00064_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error