Jari Koljonen

6.22 Party as a Transdisciplinary Art Experience in Secondary School (Paper)

Jari Koljonen – Aalto University, Finland

Abstract:

In this paper, I explore school parties in Finnish general education as platforms for achieving transdisciplinary art experiences. The Finnish school system is strictly divided into separate subjects, yet the curriculum encourages interdisciplinary collaboration. This is often challenging to actualise in practice. This paper addresses the theoretical possibilities, practical challenges, and contextual requirements of such collaborations through an (auto)ethnographic case study involving myself (as a drama teacher), a music teacher, and a visual arts teacher. Together, we collaborated to replace the traditional secondary school Christmas party with a multidisciplinary musical performance. Neo-baroque theory provides a fitting framework for this analysis, aligning with my broader interest in art forms that transcend rigid subject boundaries. The fragmented, complex, and spectacle-driven nature of neo-baroque art parallels the diverse, collaborative nature of school celebrations. As Nils Erik Wickberg suggests (in Niskanen, 2017), baroque-era parties epitomize baroque culture – a comparison that invites parallels with contemporary school events, where the neo-baroque spirit can be most vividly realized. This paper is part of my doctoral dissertation, which investigates the existence and potential of interdisciplinary art practices within Finnish secondary school art lessons. I propose that collaborative, interdisciplinary experiments are a crucial first step toward more integrated multidisciplinary work, ultimately leading to a truly transdisciplinary approach, at least momentarily erasing the borders of subject divide. This study examines the factors that enable or hinder the realisation of transdisciplinary art practices in Finnish general education art lessons.