Places and Spaces: The Architectures of Art and Design Education

Convenor and speaker at conference session at the Association for Art History:

The built environment of the art school is undergoing a period of transformation; with a shift towards interdisciplinary environments, mass investment in new buildings, and a widespread adoption of virtual or hybrid learning platforms. These environments can be understood as pedagogical tools that shape, house and locate students and practice physically, psychologically and artistically.

This session seeks to facilitate a dialogue that interrogates the forms, structures, ecosystems and histories of the art school. How have the studios and workshops —designed for learning, teaching, and making — influenced and informed curriculum, creativity, practice and community? It questions how the legacy of spaces designed for artistic practice determine and impact decisions made for the future, making a timely provocation on the position of arts education in relation to current social and political landscapes.