Another large, related influence at this time was Fred Wilson’s ‘Mining the Museum’ (1992), an exhibition at the Maryland Historical Socity, commissioned as a collaboration by the Contemporary Museum, Baltimore in the US that examined curatorial practices and the politics of museum representation. The installation rearranged the museum’s collection to expose the racial and cultural biases embedded in traditional curatorial narratives. By juxtaposing unexpected objects, such as an arrangement of silver repoussé vessels – often celebrated as symbols of Maryland’s craftsmanship and affluence – alongside a pair of iron slave shackles, Wilson illuminated the erasures and silences in historical displays. He asked viewers to consider “whose stories are told, and whose are missing” in institutions (Wilson, 1992).
I have been given two other interesting references by my ARP tutor, Rachel, which I have briefly investigated and will look into in more depth after the PgCert has finished:
Museums Are Not Neutral is a global advocacy initiative co-produced by La Tanya S. Autry and Mike Murawski to expose the myth of museum neutrality and demand equity-based transformation across institutions.
www.artmuseumteaching.com/2017/08/31/museums-are-not-neutral
Museum Detox champions fair representation and the inclusion of cultural, intellectual, and creative contributions from people of colour. They challenge and work to deconstruct systems of inequality that exist to enable a sector where the workforce and audience is reflective of the UK’s 21st century population.
www.museumdetox.org
I reference ideas from both O’Doherty and Wilson in my teaching, in particular discussing Cultural Appropriation with students. For the Inclusive Practices section of the PgCert, I proposed formally expanding on this in my intervention. As mentioned, I have been helping the Printed Textiles tutor Sarah Cheyne over the past few years with her sessions on Cultural Appropriation, which were sparked by a student who refused to go on a drawing visit to the British Museum, and I also wanted to use it to continue to explore Cultural Appropriation in more depth for sessions with students and for myself.
However, reflecting on my IP tutor’s feedback from the IP Intervention Project, in which she said “the scope of your intervention appears broad, and it is not entirely clear which key ideas or aspects conclude as the main focus. For the next iteration of your intervention, I would love to see a clearer, more focused approach, perhaps by integrating more student-led aspects.“ I understood that I needed more focus. I was disappointed by my grade for the Inclusive Practices unit, and I reflected that perhaps I hadn’t communicated well enough that I wanted to look at Cultural Appropriation through the lens / method of ‘Thinking Through Drawing’ as a student-centred activity, so I do not present myself as an ‘expert’ but we all share our experiences through different ways of communicating and dialogue, that may produce unexpected results and so open up the discussion in open and unexpected ways.
So I felt it would be more apposite, focussed and pressing to explore the ideas behind ‘Thinking through Drawing’ in more depth in an ARP, and analyse how I can see it being a useful method for working in practice, helping with students’ approach to their work in my sessions.
A student-centered, experiential learning environment aligns closely with Carl Rogers’ principles of self-directed learning, collaboration, and reflective practice, which I explored in an earlier TPP POST ‘Fostering Experiential Learning in Fashion Education: Integrating Carl Rogers’ Principles into Teaching Fashion Technical Sheet Creation Using Adobe Illustrator’ https://23044881.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/03/18/fostering-experiential-learning-in-fashion-education-integrating-carl-rogers-principles-into-teaching-fashion-technical-sheet-creation-using-adobe-illustrator. By giving students an overview of a creative process which does not promote one form of working (Analogue or Digital) over another, I am referencing his approach to:
- Self-Directed Learning
Rogers emphasised the importance of learners taking ownership of their education, choosing what, how, and why they learn based on their intrinsic motivations and goals. This autonomy fosters deep engagement and personal growth. Students are empowered to set their learning goals and identify resources that match their needs, and act as a facilitator, guiding students in their learning process rather than dictating content or methods. - Experiential Learning
Rogers believed that experiential learning connects the intellectual and emotional aspects of education, making it holistic, rooting it in real-life, meaningful experiences. I want my Adobe technical sessions to involve hands-on projects, case studies, simulations, and collaboration to enhance student engagement with what could be seen as a ‘dry’ mechanical session. This approach fosters intrinsic motivation and personal investment in the learning process. (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
Understanding through Doing also refers to my TPP Post ‘Analogue Drawing and Digital Skills’ https://23044881.myBLOG POST.arts.ac.uk/2024/03/18/analogue-drawing-and-digital-skills
In the Post I reference Anders Marner and Hans Örtegren who claim, like James Wertsch (1991), that human action typically employs ‘mediational means’ such as physical tools and language, and that the mediation shapes the action in essential ways. This links to my adoption of an Analogue Drawing activity at the start of Digital Technical Skill sessions; Understanding through Doing or Thinking through Drawing – I don’t teach effects or techniques, I teach enquiry through differrent media.
References:
- Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.
- Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
- Wilson, F. (1992) ‘Mining the Museum’. Maryland Historical Society.
Students’ collaborative drawing (detail)