Special Issue Released: Exploring Situatedness in Partnership with ELIA, Part 1

 Photo taken at ELIA Academy 2023 in Évora.

The special issue of Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, ‘Exploring Situatedness in Partnership with ELIA, Part 1’, is the result of a vibrant partnership with ELIA, building directly on the ELIA Academy 2023: Exploring Situatedness. In her editorial, Stacey Salazar highlights ELIA as a catalyst for this collective inquiry, noting how the conference served as both inspiration and framework for this issue’s thematic approach.

Through an international call for contributions, the issue brings together a diverse range of voices from within and beyond academia, all responding to the question: How does place shape what higher arts education can be today?

In her editorial, Salazar reflects on how “situatedness” emerged as a powerful lens through which educators and practitioners are reshaping studio practices and learning environments:

• Place as Pedagogical Partner
Contributors describe learning models that treat the local context—its communities, histories, and ecologies—as a central element of curriculum and studio practice.

• Multiple Modes of Situatedness
The issue includes global perspectives on situated learning, from Indigenous pedagogies to place-based design residencies and social practice initiatives.

• Rethinking Studio Culture
Salazar identifies a shift from the traditional studio toward responsive, reflective, and reciprocal learning spaces—a recurring theme in contributions that emerged directly from ELIA Academy discussions.

• Empathy, Identity & Context
Building on her previous editorial work, Salazar connects situatedness with the development of identity and empathy in learners, making a case for higher arts education that is socially rooted and locally relevant.

• A Transformative Call
The editorial frames “situatedness” not only as a descriptive concept, but as a call to action: to rethink the future of arts education through deeper engagement with place, people, and possibility.

ELIA Academy 2023

This issue offers ELIA members timely insights and practical frameworks for reimagining arts education through locally engaged, context-responsive approaches grounded in the ELIA Academy 2023’s core theme of situatedness.

Access the issue or download the abstract