Art Pedagogy beyond Bologna – Educational Seminar

At Funen Art Academy, Odense Denmark April 12 & 13 2007

With neoliberalism as the dominant political narrative in education as well as in society as a whole, the time has come to open a debate about critical strategies within art education. Even though a broad and useful discussion of the Bologna process’s impact on art education has been unfolding within recent years across the EU, very little debate has been focusing on perspectives and content of non-conformist and critical art education.

How can art education become a source of critical and independent social currents in a context where most art schools increasingly are reproducing neoliberal ideology and free market thinking through their structure and content? What kind of knowledge and social practices could be shaped through educational institutions that go beyond just providing young and professional artworkers for the art market or the creative industries? To paraphrase Paulo Freire, how should an ‘Art Education for a Critical Consciousness’ practice and organise inside official or selforganised educational art institutions in the future?

The main focus of the Educational Seminar will be on self-organisation as a method of learning, empowerment and resistance. We want to discuss the dialectics between organisational structures and learning processes in such selforganised initiatives, as well as the interface and interaction between selforganisnised learning initiatives and official educational institutions.

By thinking about the educational institution as a whole with students, teachers, tutors, administration and other staff the Educational Seminar at the Funen Art Academy wants to bring together an international group of educationalists, students and activists for a two days seminar about critical art pedagogy beyond Bologna. The seminar will be organised with one day of workshops followed by one day of presentations. We imagine the gathering as an educational seminar; both as a seminar with art education as its topic but also as an educational situation in its own right.

The seminar is organised by Funen Art Academy/Sanne Kofod Olsen & Jakob Jakobsen in collaboration with Stephan Dillemuth, The Art Academy in Munich.

Participants: Students from Fri Klasse (DK), Freie Klasse (Berlin), Critical Studies (Malmø), the Funen Art Academy (DK). Speakers: Judith Hopf (Freie Klasse etc, Berlin), Stephan Dillemuth (Summer Academy, Student research, etc, Munich), Anthony Davies (The A-course and neoliberal art education, London), Simon Sheikh (Critical Studies, Malmø), Nils Norman (Anarchist Education & Environmental Classes, London), Eva Egermann (Student activist, Educational Research, Art Academy, Vienna). Johannes Raether (Freie Klasse, Meine Akademi, Berlin)

Art Pedagogy beyond Bologna – Educational Seminar

Preliminary schedule

Wednesday April 11 (for workshop participants only)

  • 18.30 Arrival & dinner
  • 20.00 Introduction

Thursday April 12 (for workshop participants only) 10.00-13.00

  • Workshop: Pedagogy of Neoliberalism (Anthony Davies & Simon Sheikh)
  • Workshop: Pedagogy of research (Stephan Dillemuth)

14.00-17.00

  • Workshop: Pedagogy of Selforganisation (Judith Hopf & Nils Norman)
  • Workshop: Student Activism and Empowerment (Eva Egerman & Johannes

Reather)

18.00 Dinner

  • 20.00 Report from the Airship workshop organised by Fri Klasse
  • 20.30 Performance (students from Munich)
  • 22.00 Performance (students from Funen)
  • 23.00 End

Friday April 13 (open to the public)

  • 10.00 Workshop presentation: Pedagogy of Neoliberalism (Anthony Davies & Simon Sheikh)
  • 11.00 Coffee break
  • 11.15 Workshop presentation: Pedagogy of research (Stephan Dillemuth)

12.30 Lunch

  • 13.30 Workshop presentation: Pedagogy of Selforganisation (Judith Hopf & Nils Norman)
  • 14.30 Coffee break
  • 14.45 Workshop presentation: Student Activism and Empowerment (Eva Egerman & Johannes Reather)
  • 16.00 Final Discussion
  • 17.00 End