Anniina Koivurova

Propositions for Museum Education: International Art Educators in Conversation (Panel)

Anniina Koivurova – University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

Chair: Patricia Osler – The Convergence Initiative – Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

Lilly Blue – Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth Cultural Centre, Australia

Sue Girak – City Beach Primary School, WA, Australia

Anniina Koivurova – University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

Tatiana Kravtsov – University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

Rolf Laven – University College of Teacher Education, Vienna, Austria

Anita Sinner – The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Lisbet Skregelid – University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway – virtual

Anniina Suominen – Aalto university, School of Art, Design and Architecture, Finland

Susana Vargas-Mejía – Bogota Museum of Modern Art / Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

Abstract:

This panel discussion explores how international art educators are engaging with new approaches to museum education in response to 21st century challenges. Panellists discuss how and why museums are shifting, evolving as sites that mediate different and multiple knowledges for the future. Who is a learner? What is a museum? Whose art is missing? Within the shifting discourse, authors of this edited collection investigate museum futures as contiguous educational sites that contribute to inclusivity, equity and diversity, and embrace dynamic innovations for teaching and learning. We open the conversation in an ‘artful exchange’ across global, local and glocal contexts, reconceptualizing museums to consider accessibility, differences in lived experiences, and how both situated and virtual practices create impactful change. With an overarching concept of relationality between art museums and interdisciplinary perspectives, museums as informal learning sites offer the communities they serve unexpected territories for meaningful experiential and educational exchange through practice-based projects. As catalysts for public scholarship, the propositions for museum education in this collection reflect living futures in relation to practice, weaving the learning potential of interacting with artworks more fully within international and localized communities to present a distinct socio-cultural discourse that is at the heart of teaching and learning.