Book collection explores using the arts to enhance learning

A book collection of four open access booklets exploring artist-led learning in higher education and collaborations from the University of Chester and European colleagues is set to be launched next month.

The Pedagogy of the Moment – Building Artistic Time-Spaces for Critical-Creative Learning in Higher Education, edited by University of Chester Visiting Professor at the Philip Barker Centre Tatiana Chemi and Dr Alison L. Nielson, will be officially launched at an online event on June 7.

It is the result of the ALL (Artist Led Learning in Higher Education) project which brings together academics at the forefront of arts-based methods from higher education institutions across Europe. The project group share original arts-based educational materials and research on open source and virtual platforms, making them publicly available for use.

The new book collection is aimed towards learners, educators, academics, leaders, artists, cultural industries and practitioners in higher education. It focusses on four separate themes: one – affects, transformations and the artists’ voices; two – the artist – educator alliance; three – community and collective learning and four – performance and performativity. Each chapter, and the examples included within it, illuminates arts-based approaches to learning, bringing together leaners, artists and higher educational professionals to highlight the rich learning experiences that working together can achieve.

The book collection features submissions from Professor Allan Owens and Dr Anne Pässilä from the University’s RECAP Centre (The Centre for Research into Education, Creativity and the Arts through Practice) and Nick Ponsillo, Director of the Philip Barker Centre for Creative Learning, which was set up to stimulate, support and explore creativity and engagement with the arts. The ALL project featured practitioners, artists and academics from France, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. It ran between 2018 and 2021 and received EU funding through the Erasmus+ scheme.

The book collection is published by Aalborg University Press and is available to purchase in paper version or retrieve digitally for free here https://aauforlag.dk/shop/kommende-boeger/default.aspx

The launch takes place at 16:00 (Iceland); 17.00 (UK and Portugal); 18.00 (Denmark, France, Italy and Norway and 19.00 (Finland).