Hui-Fan Chao

1.9 Interwoven Artistic Landscapes: Exploring Relational Aesthetics in Schools through Art Festivals and Public Art (Paper)

Hui-Fan Chao – National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Chien-Ling Chen – National Taiwan Normal University/Shin-Yi Elementary School in Keelung City, Taiwan

Abstract:

Relational aesthetics emphasizes art’s connective power, exploring how it fosters relationships among people, artworks, and the environment. We explore ‘unexpected encounters’ in the context of a school art festival and public art, where such aesthetics naturally arise, evolving and blending through artistic creation and shared experiences, characterized by organic interactivity and conviviality. The Art Festival: A Magic House is a project-based learning activity in an elementary Art Talent Class (ATC). Based on the annual theme, we have led 23 ATC students in group planning and invited 300 students to participate. Emphasizing the creative process, art students take on the role of primary instructors, learning planning, demonstration, management, and interactive skills. Throughout the learning, practice, presentation, and reflection phases, ATC students experience the complexity and unpredictability of teaching, including dynamic interactions and variables. We have taken on a background role, allowing ATC students to shift from learners to active performers and instructors, and the participants experienced a new learning relationship. The flow of these experiences fosters an organic network of interaction and connections among all participants. 

Vibrant Little Farmer-Gods is another public art project co-designed with an artist, focusing on a deep connection to the soil and rooted in both artistic and local significance. Together with the artist, we serve as guides and context creators, leading 180 students on a 120-day practice. Students used AI app to create five ‘Farmer-Gods’ figures – Strength, Farming, Learning, Healing, and Writing – reinterpreting the ideal rural life with elements such as herbal cabinets, lattice windows, hieroglyphics, and calligraphy, promoting a co-creative, positive campus environment. Through engagement and face-to-face listening, mutual understanding emerges, and students learn to perceive and rethink through active engagement and face-to-face listening, achieving a ‘fusion of horizons’ in interactive dialogues. Within this relational aesthetic, a shared learning platform was built, generating new connections, experiences, and insights.

2.11 Initiating Affordance-Based Learning: Reciprocity between Students and Art Media in Campus Public Art (Paper)

Hui-Fan Chao – National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Abstract:

The affordances of art media and educational activities on campus significantly impact students’ perceptions, and engagement. Our team explore how affordance-based learning can be applied to public art in Taiwan through four facets: sensory, cognitive, physical, and procedural. As a leader of the project, I have developed the Spectating Visible Light Participatory Art Project in collaboration with five schoolteachers. We have put in 120 hours into the process of constructing concepts, planning execution processes, structuring activity strategies, actual implementation, data collection, reflection on the teaching process, and revisions. A total of 250 students participated in this Participatory Art Project. The research process integrated data through teacher interviews, activity observation records, image coding of students’ artworks, and analysis of art media documentation to understand the interactions between students and art media. The activity based on affordance-based learning includes: 1) Sensory affordances: creating sensory experiences by guiding students to find plant clues through body drama activities; 2) Cognitive affordances: designing clear guiding questions to help students understand the task of exploring public artworks; 3) Physical affordances: designing child-accessible art media sizes that align with students’ physical characteristics to empower their independent demonstration; 4) Procedural affordances: arranging the activity sequence as think-explore-play to deepen students’ exploration of art media. We also found that affordance-based learning provides students with diverse learning styles and enhances their engagement by addressing key factors such as learning, entertainment, and social interaction, thereby improving the reciprocity between students, artistic media, and environment. The Spectating Visible Light Participatory Art Project makes public art an ideal space for students to explore the above-mentioned four affordances. Through the intersection of intrinsic motivation, environmental context, and scaffolded learning, students effectively transition from passive receivers of perception to active engagement.

3.30 Transforming Parenting into “Peerenting”: Enhancing Parent–Child Interaction in Art Appreciation for 5 to 7-Year-Old Children in Museums through Visible Thinking Strategy (Paper)

Hui-Fan Chao – National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Yuichih Wu – Taiwan Normal University/Fubon Art Museum, Taiwan

Abstract:

Museums are valuable learning environments where parents hope their children will develop an appreciation for art. However, practical experiences in art museums indicate that many parents remain passive observers in such settings. Many parents feel they lack the knowledge to engage with their children or struggle to participate in creative activities. Children’s perception and observation of art, their attitudes toward it, and even their willingness to take creative risks are often influenced by their parents. Therefore, this study explores meaningful ways for young children and their parents to discuss and interact with art in museum settings. Focusing on 20 groups of children aged 5-7 and their parents, we used the Visible Thinking Strategy, particularly the Think, Puzzle, Explore method, to guide parents and children in observing, describing, and interpreting art together. Pre- and post-activity surveys, along with qualitative observations, revealed three key outcomes: 1) Children’s understanding of art shifted from vague to more defined, 2) Children’s attitudes and values toward art showed notable improvement, and 3) Parent-child interaction evolved, with new behaviours such as joint observation, discussion, improvisation, and play. The third outcome is particularly noteworthy, suggesting that structured yet open-ended observation and discussion methods can bridge the gap between parents, children, and art, facilitating a dialogue and collaborative creation that connects their experiences.

Hui-Fan Chao – Transforming Parenting into “Peerenting”: Enhancing Parent–Child Interaction in Art Appreciation for 5 to 7-Year-Old Children in Museums through Visible Thinking Strategy (Paper)