Community Member Arts Modelling in Bourgogne, France
Presentation to the World Congress of Comparative Education (2013)
Abstract (199w)
The arts in Ontario, Canada are often studied in isolation from their use in the community. In delivering arts’ curriculum this way, it taxes the physical resources of the school and seldom provides a career-enriching experience for students (Gruenewald & Smith, 2008, 2007). In search of a new, socially diverse model for teaching and learning the arts, the researcher travelled to teacher-selected schools in Bourgogne, France in June, 2012. School sites in Vitteaux, Dijon, and Auxois provided tangible examples of how the transfer of culturally diverse knowledge between community-based artists and school students allowed immediate and career-relevant learning (Shreeve & Smith, 2012; Buys & Miller, 2011; Davis, 2010). Each school site utilized local, professional arts’ knowledge by following a similar process to creative writing teaching in Canada (Scheuerman, Gritter, Schuster & Fisher, 2010). Professional artists were invited, by the school principal, to select a community-relevant theme; they modelled various techniques and mediums; engaged the students in identifying the artistic criteria; coached the application and practice of the art; and then networked with local galleries to exhibit the students’ own peer-selected products. The model for ‘bringing the community into’ the school optimized resources and provided community-linked arts education for all.
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