Peter Vietgen

8.16 Community/University Partnerships in Art Education: A Canadian Perspective (Paper)

Peter Vietgen – Brock University, Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada

David LeRue – Concordia University, Montreal, Canada – virtual

Abstract:

The relationships between community-based art education organizations and academic institutions are often mutually beneficial, but pose a number of challenges given their differing priorities, timelines, and resources. Nevertheless, as universities internationally take up community engagement to meet institutional goals of social engagement, critical reflections are needed about how best to sustain these partnerships. In this presentation, two art education professors from Canada discuss their projects that bridge academia and community, with one author holding longstanding teaching and administrative positions within a community art school in Montreal, and the other with a focus on school and museum collaborations, who is a former art consultant with the Toronto District School Board. We will begin with a brief discussion of our approach to community engagement, followed by sharing projects we have completed from our respective positions. We will close with offering our perspectives on how academia-community relationships can be more reciprocal.