Hypo and Hyper Sensitivity in the Art Teaching Environment

An experimental attempt to clarify ‘the sensory’. Drawing on a tradition of experiential equality learning, how might imaginative visualization and experience intensify our notion of space and provide a reflective process through which to reimagine learning spaces? Artists are notoriously both sensorially sensitive and thus avoidant (hyper) and sensory-seeking (hypo) in their orientations, as are ‘neurodiverse’ students, as are we all in different contexts. ‘Switching off’ and ‘compliance’ are a common response to poor spaces and engagement. This session foolishly aims to clarify: our own sensory culture, theoretical approaches and, practice ‘sensory intensification’ as a method of exploring these questions.