EDI Platform Meeting
taking space - making space

Carolina Vasilikou, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester School of Art, United Kingdom
Join an interactive workshop that serves as a 60-minute design-by-making activity, exploring the celebration of diverse student voices within institutional spaces. Inspired by the 'Greater Than the Sums of Parts' project at the University of Reading (https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/sbe-edi/2023/03/08/great-than-the-sum-of-parts/), this session invites participants to engage in experimental bamboo conversions, accentuating and negotiating space appropriation. Drawing from the student-led initiative where bamboo structures took over the School of Architecture, participants will explore playful, non-conformist methods to existing architectural elements through wearables and three-dimensional responses. The workshop, co-developed with the Manchester Student Society of Architecture, fosters radical empathy by weaving together diverse identities in a shared reality. Participants will contribute to the co-creation of a larger, intricate sculpture, emphasizing differences and collective values. Open to public participation, this session promises a hands-on exploration of collaborative practices and the celebration of varied student voices within institutional settings.

Rosa te Velde, Paulina Mendez, Amsterdam University of the Arts, the Netherlands
Embark on a reflective journey exploring the intersection of students' lives outside the academy with their experiences within art institutions. Should art school exist as a bubble, and whose experiences are excluded? Delve into these inquiries using the 5-pillar framework from the Social Justice and Diversity in the Arts Research Lectorate of the Amsterdam University of the Arts. The five pillars are concepts that guide and question our actions in education, artistic practice, and research. They are rooted in indigenous knowledge and decolonial theory, encompass relationality, temporality, transformation, cost, and joy (https://www.ahk.nl/en/sjda-5pillars/). Explore these crucial questions and engage in meaningful discussions during this insightful session.

Sunedria Nicholls-Gärtner, ifs internationale filmschule köln, Germany
Engage in a transformative exploration of narratives, audiovisual representations, and digital media's impact on our social understanding. This session, inspired by the collaborative research project future.film.education, addresses the imperative need for dialogue on vulnerability in global film and media education. Focused on fostering gender equality and diversity discussions, the project, a collaboration among three European film and art schools, generated specialized toolkits and a MOOC over two years. These resources aim to cultivate innovative, inclusive, and diverse film and higher education environments, both on and offline. The session provides firsthand experiences of the project's outcomes, inviting the audience to navigate critical thinking in media concerning equity, diversity, and inclusion. Participants will engage in a facilitated discussion, delving into issues of diversity and inclusion as essential components of current and future artistic education. Join this insightful exploration into reshaping educational landscapes in the realms of film and media.

Alessia Cargnelli, National College of Art & Design Dublin, Ireland
The workshop, guided by the philosophy that everyone has the right to belong without the need for charity or hospitality, focuses on the concept of belonging in visual arts archives within educational institutions. As a postdoctoral researcher at the National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL), the presenter is spearheading a project to diversify library collections, providing visibility to underrepresented artists and designers from diverse backgrounds on the island of Ireland. Employing a participatory-led approach, the workshop draws inspiration from the 'emergent strategy' developed by social justice facilitator Adrianne Maree Brown. Workshop participants will contribute to discussions on site accessibility, language of inclusion, and collection policies, aiming to foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment for artists, students and researchers, within their own institution and beyond. The resulting visual material will be compiled into a toolkit, shared with participants to encourage collective thinking and making beyond the workshop.

Stefanie Rau, weißensee school of art and design, Germany
Experience a poetic lecture performance unveiling the three-year artistic research project, "Periphery of the Curriculum," at the weissensee academy of art and design in Berlin. This exploration delves into the nuances of teaching in workshops and the foundation year; crucial yet often overlooked aspects of the art school's social dynamics and initial stages. The project fosters a productive exchange, contemplating the intersections between workshop teaching and foundational learning approaches. How can these local knowledges mutually strengthen and learn from each other? The focus extends to the spaces created through teaching, pondering the dynamics, changes, and the collective identity within these spaces. Interviews with various actors in these spaces provide critical self-reflection, uncovering overlooked aspects. The aim is to not only explore a specific context but also offer broader insights, resonating with a wider audience of critical art educators. Join this session for a profound journey into the complexities of art education.