Michael Whittington

Art Making Workshop: Material Entanglements, Soft Skills and Co-creation

Michael Whittington (with Rory Davis) – The University of Newcastle, Australia

Abstract:

Studio learning has emerged as a contemporary bridge between the entangled learner and their ‘becomings’ in the physical and virtual worlds. This presentation speaks to emergent finding and draws on Haraways’ ideas of sympoiesis and worlding across the materialised physical and virtual spaces in visual arts learning. Art making practice emphasises the collaborative and interwoven nature of creation. The workshop activity is part of the presentation process, driving discussion that suggests that knowledge and understanding are co-produced through interactions between the learner, the physical environment, and the art work. Our workshop discussion points explore some of the emergent data from the two researcher’s ongoing doctoral studies ‘Contemporary art making: an affordance of empathic concern for boys’ (Michael Whittington) and ‘Soft skills and visual arts curriculum in Australian secondary schools’ (Rory Davis). Both of the researchers work as full-time classroom visual arts teachers in NSW schools, whilst completing their PhD studies at the University of Newcastle. This workshop seeks to share with delegates fulfilling art making activities, through the use of upcycled materials to create soft sculptures, along with collaborative drawing activities designed to complement the researcher’s discussion points.