Abstract

Short paper, theme: Educations and Societies: Participatory practices and institutional change
Venue: CCCB, date: June 14

Keywords: Epistemological Pluralism, Pedagogy as Artistic Practice, Art and Design production centres, Cultivating the Possible

This paper shares learning from an artwork ‘Learning Nonhuman’ produced by a learning team working at FACT, an art institution/production centre in Liverpool. Artist Jack Tan worked with an intergenerational group of participants to develop a game that allows people to roleplay as nonhumans and propose policy changes on their behalf. The game was then played by FACT staff members, to inform the writing of a new environmental policy. In this paper, we are presenting our reflections on institutional learning coming from applying arts based learning experiences to the art organisation’s culture. http://www.fact.co.uk/learning-non-human

• Lucía Arias is the Learning Manager at FACT, Liverpool, UK. She oversees a programme of activities, long-term projects and learning resources, created in collaboration with artists. We invite artists to work with participants and produce artworks that present different living experiences and create knowledge. We are particularly interested in designing spaces where young people can be heard. Previously, she led the Education Programme at LABoral Art Centre in Gijón. For 8 years, we worked with young people from schools and non formal education spaces, giving them access to creative technology. They designed solutions, objects and devices to respond to the needs of their communities in a digital technology lab. Her work has been presented at different FabLearn Conferences (2013, 2014 and 2015), Transmediale 2016. She is interested in the exchange between Critical Pedagogy models and Participatory Arts.
• Neil Winterburn is the Learning Technologist at FACT, Liverpool, UK. He supports artists to use technology as a space for artistic dialogue and learning. We invite artists to work with participants and produce artworks that present different living experiences and create knowledge. We are particularly interested in designing spaces where young people can be heard. Previously, 2001-2008 he worked as a youthworker at Interchill, a digital youthclub in Liverpool. In 2008 he helped set up artist collective Re-Dock who focused on making art with technology and people in non gallery spaces, cinemas in derelict buildings, public art by canals, digital art in libraries, books and games on art kits. In 2013 he published Child Computer Interaction research on methods for involving teenagers in the participatory design of interactive emotion displays. He is interested in the exchange between artists and young people and between art practices and educational formats.