Young Children, the Arts and Creativity Statewide Forum 2nd & 3rd March 2012 Tailrace Centre 1 Waterfront Drive Riverside, Launceston Welcome This forum is part of the Creative Connections in the Early Years project. The Tasmanian Early Years Foundation (TEYF) and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) have collaborated in this exciting initiative to develop programs and support for creative art experiences in the early years of life (0 to 6 years). The first phase of Creative Connections has received funding from the Sidney Myer Fund. Our research and community consultation to date has revealed a great desire from early years educators and carers, artists and arts organisations, community organisations and families for increased opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and professional learning around the arts and creativity in the early years. Therefore, as part of the Creative Connections project, we are very excited to present this forum and look forward to the dialogue and learning we hope it will generate. 3 Program summary Friday 2nd March, 2012 AM 9:00–9:30 Registration 9:30 – 9:45 Welcome to country Aunty Phyllis Pitchford Welcome to the forum Dr Sue Jenkins PM 9:45 – 10:45 Keynote presentation – Engaging Children and Families in the Arts Robert Brown and Simon Spain Chair: Dr Sue Jenkins 10:45 – 11:15 Morning tea 11:15 – 12:15 Keynote Presentation – Adults as Interlocutors: Surfacing Children’s Voices Prof Susan Wright Chair: Dr Karen Swabey 12:15 – 1:15 Lunch 1:15 – 2:10 Pecha Kucha session 1 Chair: Mark Green 2:10 – 3:10 Concurrent sessions Focus on Arts Organisations ‘Your New Museum’: what TMAG’s redevelopment means for young people Bec Tudor Participatory Arts Practice: engaging young audiences Natalie De Vito Chair: Josie Hurst 4 3:10 – 3:30 Afternoon tea 3:30 – 4:25 Pecha Kucha session 2 Chair: Mark Green 4:25 – 4:30 Closing remarks Mark Green Focus on Artists Engaging Artists: profiling artists who work with children Simon Spain and Robert Brown Chair: Michael McLaughlin Focus on Child Development The Arts and Young Children: more than playing around Di Nailon and Sheridan Emery Chair: Cheryl Larcombe Saturday 3rd March, 2012 AM PM 8:30 – 9:30 Optional: Guided tour of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery’s facilities for children and families 2 Wellington Street, Royal Park, Launceston 9:30 – 10:00 Registration 10:00 – 10:25 Conditions for Engagement and Creative Learning Robert Brown and Simon Spain Chair: Prof Ian Hay 10:25 – 11:10 A Taste of Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Activities Lola Greeno, Vicki West and Judith Rose-Thomas 11:10 – 11:30 Morning tea 11:30 – 1:00 Concurrent workshops Communicating through the Arts Elspeth Stephenson and Virginia Kinnear 1:00 – 1:45 1:45 – 3:15 Drawing – your way into a child’s world Rosie McKeand Being in the Space (dance) Jay Watson Recycled Plastics Elizabeth Russell-Arnot Why Offer Song to Young Children? Melinda Risby Lunch Concurrent workshops The Seasons through Drama Helen Sweeney I Felt this might be fun (felting) Sonja Hindrum Drama and Storytelling Sharon Pittaway 3:15 – 4:10 What are the Characteristics of an Engaging Arts Experience? Discussion facilitators: Robert Brown and Simon Spain 4:10 – 4:15 Closing remarks Bec Tudor 4:15 – 4:30 Afternoon tea 5 Friday 2nd March 9:45 – 10:45 Keynote presentation: Engaging Children and Families in the Arts, Simon Spain and Robert Brown What engages children and families in the programs we offer? This session explores this complex question, taking into account the voices of children, families, artists, teachers and arts organisation leadership. It will critically reflect on a long-term and detailed case study of ArtPlay, the very popular community arts centre in Melbourne. This session forms part of a series of national presentations based on the practice-led theory developed from a long-term research partnership between the University of Melbourne and the City of Melbourne’s ArtPlay. The aim is to generate exchange and build capacity amongst arts practitioners, teachers and organisations working in the arts with children and families. Simon Spain is Creative Producer of ArtPlay and Signal for the City of Melbourne. Simon graduated as a visual artist in Brighton, United Kingdom, and worked on arts and art education projects in London, Dublin and the west coast of Ireland. In 2003 he moved to Australia to establish ArtPlay for the City of Melbourne. ArtPlay has grown to represent best practice arts programming for children and families. In 2010 the program expanded to include a new venue, Signal. A central intention of both initiatives is to bring artists together with children, families and young people to co-create art. www.artplay.com.au 6 Robert Brown is an experienced arts and education lecturer from the Melbourne School of Graduate Education at the University of Melbourne. As Project Manager at the University of Melbourne’s Early Learning Centre, Robert was engaged in numerous practice-led research studies undertaken with children, teachers and artists living and working in diverse communities. Robert is the Senior Research Associate for an Australian Research Centre funded project investigating the practices of ArtPlay. He is also managing a three-year Australia Council funded Community and Cultural Partnerships Initiative entitled the ACCESS program, investigating how facilities such as ArtPlay and Signal engage diverse participants in creative and innovative arts practices. www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/ace/research/ artplay.html 11:15 – 12:15 Keynote presentation: Adults as Interlocutors: surfacing children’s voices, Professor Susan Wright Taking on the role of interlocutor with a child as s/he draws is similar to being a playmate; going with the flow of the child’s imagination, suspending disbelief and allowing the child to take the lead. In the process, the child often chats about the artwork, the processes of its creation and the meaning-making and communication as it surfaces. Several examples of 5 to 8 year old children’s visual narratives will be presented to illustrate that, when engaging in art, children make objects of their own contemplation and, through their bodies and senses, bring ideas and feelings into existence. Taking time to be present with a child during these dynamic encounters provides powerful evidence that art is a significant conduit for children to create meaning, organise and make sense of their environment and illustrate their aesthetic, emotional and intellectual competence. Professor Susan Wright is Chair of Arts Education within the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. Previously she was Professor and Head of Early Childhood and Special Needs Education at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Singapore, where she collaborated on the development of an arts-based experiential kindergarten. Susan has an extensive arts education background, with particular expertise in early childhood education. Susan’s teaching and research both focus on young children’s learning, with a particular interest in the mediating tools of the arts, children’s meaning-making and voice using artistic symbol systems, arts pedagogy and developmental semiotics. 1:15 – 2:10 Pecha Kucha Session 1 Based on the principals of Pecha Kucha (Japanese word for chit chat), a series of presenters will each speak to 20 slides, displayed for just 20 seconds each! There will be time for questions at the end of the session. Showcase 1: Art Tastic, an exhibition which began in 2006, was originally part of Northern Children’s Network’s celebration of thirty years of service. It has since grown to be a vehicle highlighting children’s creative potential. Steve Yates has been chief executive officer of Northern Children’s Network Inc since early 2006. He is passionate about art, and how children can develop their own identity through being creative. [email protected] Showcase 2: Kids Allowed in Kingborough was an initiative of Kingborough Council, supported by the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation, that employed an artist to work with young children to explore the concept of a ‘child friendly place’. Their ideas were included in a ‘popup’ art installation and a concurrent photographic and children’s art exhibition. Allison Jones has been a practicing and exhibiting artist for the last 20 years and worked in numerous educational settings. Allison’s artwork explores the concept of ‘feeling at home’, what that means for her and how to capture this for others through a range of mediums such as paper sculpture, fibre, fiberglass and 2-dimensional work. [email protected] 7 Showcase 3: Care Bears Cottage is set in a unique bush location, lending itself beautifully to a philosophy influenced by the guiding principles of Reggio Emilia, Rudolf Steiner and the Early Years Learning Framework. This presentation introduces our philosophy and represents our cooperative approaches to finding our voices through the arts. Michelle Beakley is a mother of three children, owner and operator of Care Bears Cottage, which she opened in 2004. She has completed a Certificate 3 and Diploma in Children’s Services and is completing a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) and the Advanced Diploma in Children’s Services. [email protected] Showcase 4: An Exploration of Natural Materials is a project aimed at encouraging and extending children’s interest and curiosity of natural materials through creativity whilst developing adults’/ parents’ understanding of creativity in the early years. The project highlights ways that creative experiences support child development and early childhood curriculum. Amanda Urquhart, born in Scotland, currently works as an Early Childhood Teacher in Launching into Learning and is an Early Intervention Teacher. She has worked in Early Childhood from a young age and has experience in teaching, Playcentre (New Zealand) and family day care. [email protected] 8 Showcase 5: The Art House is strategically located in a geographically isolated Tasmanian community which is subject to significant social and economic disadvantage. This presentation addresses the importance of connecting with the educational needs of students in a holistic sense as well as examining how the visual arts nurture the growth of young people in the community through the development of a unique partnership with post graduate students from the University of Tasmania’s School of Art. Eve Mills is an International Baccalaureatetrained Visual Arts teacher who has taught students from Prep to Grade 12 for over three decades, and is presently completing her PhD through Curtin University in Western Australia focusing on engaging both ‘at risk’ and aspiring students through the visual arts. [email protected] Showcase 6: Billy – A Neighbourly Neighbourhoods Project is a two-year Communities for Children initiative produced by Creature Tales and facilitated through Centacare Burnie. Its aim is to engage young families with children under 12 in a series of crosscultural and intergenerational exchanges and to build social capital, neighbourhood pride and increase community capacity in areas of disadvantage. Chris Mead and Stephanie Finn are from Creature Tales, an arts organisation that works in the areas of community cultural development, arts and health, and tourism visitor experiences. Their current work includes the Communities for Children project, an arts initiative with aged residents in high care, and a Tasmanian themed arts and entertainment program for the Spirit of Tasmania. www.creaturetales.com.au 2.10 – 3.10 Concurrent sessions Participatory Arts Practice – engaging young audiences 1.Focus on arts organisations and programs (presentations) This presentation examines participatory arts practices that engage audience as active participant; a model that engages children and youth more directly in the arts, offering unique learning experiences. ‘Your New Museum’: what TMAG’s redevelopment means for young people Stage 1 of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s redevelopment is now under way and scheduled for completion in December 2012. This presentation gives exciting insight into the new spaces, exhibitions and public programs currently in development, with a specific focus on the kinds of experiences that will be on offer for early learners, their carers and families. Bec Tudor is Coordinator of Art Education at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). Since 2009 she has coordinated TMAG’s AccessArt program, which is funded by Detached Cultural Organisation, and which aims to increase access to and engagement with contemporary art, art practice and creativity for people of all ages. Natalie De Vito is the Festival Director of the Junction Arts Festival. As an independent creative producer, curator, consultant and writer, she has worked internationally for over 15 years across the visual and media arts, theatre and performance art. Most recently she was the Artistic Producer of Mammalian Diving Reflex, one of Canada’s leading performance art companies, where she developed and produced large-scale performances and events across 14 countries, engaging local communities as active collaborators in live performances. [email protected] [email protected] 9 2.Focus on artists (presentation and discussion) 3.Focus on child development (workshop) Engaging Artists: profiling artists who work with children The Arts and Young Children – more than playing around Large-scale research into long standing creative partnership programs in the UK and USA has championed the value of artists working with children in school contexts. A growing body of studies has also explored the positive contribution artists make to the artistic and social engagement of children and youth in community-based settings. In Australia, there is a lack of in-depth research that profiles the characteristics of artist-child interactions in non-school contexts. ArtPlay has been identified as a ‘rich site’ for research. This presentation profiles the backgrounds, beliefs and practices of a group of artists presenting arts workshops for children aged 3–12 years at ArtPlay. Working effectively with young children in the arts is more than just playing around (though that is fun too). This workshop uses an interactive approach to examine key aspects of children’s development, learning, and agency related to engaging children in the arts. Case studies will allow us to look at what happens when we work artistically with children and apply ideas from early childhood research and theory to what we do. The ideas presented in this workshop link with principles and outcomes from early years and national curriculum frameworks. Simon Spain and Robert Brown (see earlier biography) Di Nailon has more than 30 years experience in early childhood teacher education, working at the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Tasmania. Di‘s background includes presenting to educators, parents and teachers in schools in Queensland on a wide range of topics concerned with early childhood development and learning. Di’s current PhD research focuses on pedagogical leadership in response to the National Quality Framework for early childhood. [email protected] 10 Sherridan Emery brings a range of experiences to the topic of children’s agency through arts education. As a mother and volunteer in Montessori and Reggio Emilia inspired early childhood settings she has participated in and designed arts-based learning experiences in collaboration with teachers and educators. Sherridan’s currently works as a researcher examining children’s agency through the arts, and is a tutor in design at the University of Tasmania. 3:30 – 4:25 Pecha Kucha Session 2 Showcase 7: Interactive exhibitions are common in science and technology centres but less so in art galleries. Find out about some exciting developments in the design and development of art galleries which cater for very young audiences. Dr Moira Simpson has worked as an art teacher, teacher trainer and museum education officer for 30 years. She is now Visual Art and Design Education Officer at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston. [email protected] Showcase 9: STOP. REST. PLAY. was a temporary public art project that occurred in an unused shopfront in the CBD of Hobart in December of 2011. The project facilitated a temporary parent’s and children’s space that invited participants to play with ideas about a city that provides better spaces of encounter for children. Bec Stevens is a Hobart-based artist. Recent group exhibitions include Green, Plimsoll Gallery (2010) and Look Out, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (2010). She has held regular solo exhibitions and has received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Tasmania for projects and residencies locally and interstate. [email protected] www.cwa-cbdbranch.com Showcase 8: The kinder museum was a project initiated and developed by the kindergarten of The Fahan School after observing and drawing a stuffed pheasant, and a visit to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery taxidermist. “I know! We could turn our whole room into a museum!” That is what happened. Showcase 10: Streets Alive Youth Arts Festival is an inclusive event that involves young people engaging in the arts and with the broader community to discuss, debate, explore and express their opinions and issues of relevance. Jennifer Parsons graduated from the Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’ College and holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education. In her Masters she completed research about young children and art including the role of the atelier and atelierista in the pre-schools of Reggio Emila. Kim Schneiders created the first Streets Alive in 1999 and has been the Executive Coordinator for the past five festivals. Kim also coordinates the Access Arts Link program working with a team of artists with a disability and creative mentors. Kim has a textile and photographic background. [email protected] [email protected] www.streetsalive.com.au 11 Showcase 11: Last year the Meander Valley Early Years Network used puppet shows and music experiences to engage with families in schools and community groups. This year the program has been extended to include puppet making, music making and circus skills workshops as a way to create positive relationships between parents and young children, and build connections with other early years service providers. Showcase 12: What makes a good artist-teacher partnership? What are the benefits and what are the pitfalls? And what do young people make of the whole deal? Glimpse some of the faces (and the art) behind successful artist teacher partnerships in schools and early childhood settings around Australia. Libby Beyerle is a Community Health Social Worker at the Deloraine District Hospital. She has a passion for early intervention and building positive supports in the early years and enjoys working collaboratively with rural communities. Mary Ann Hunter is Senior Lecturer in Drama Education at the University of Tasmania, and was the start-up coordinator of community-run meenah mienne, an arts mentoring program for Aboriginal young people in Northern Tasmania. In 2010 Mary Ann was commissioned to conduct the national evaluation of the Australian Government’s Artist in Residence Initiative. [email protected] [email protected] Sean Manners has been involved in puppetry for over 25 years. His company, Pelican Puppets, has performed shows and conducted workshops since 1992. Sean has initiated and co‑ordinated many community arts projects in New South Wales and Tasmania. [email protected] 12 Ongoing throughout the day in the foyer: Paper sculpture Co-create a paper sculpture reflecting the journey of ideas and inspirations emerging from the forum with artist Alison Jones. Allison Jones (see earlier biography) Saturday 3rd March 8:30 – 9:30 Optional guided tour Optional guided tour of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery’s facilities for children and families. 2 Wellington Street, Royal Park, Launceston. Own transport required. 10:00 – 10:25 Conditions for Engagement and Creative Learning – Simon Spain and Robert Brown This presentation introduces the conditions that support children’s engagement and creative learning. What are the characteristics of an engaging arts experience? Simon Spain and Robert Brown (see earlier biography) 10:25 – 11:10 A Taste of Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Activities – Lola Greeno, Vicki West and Judith‑Rose Thomas A hands-on workshop where you will experience contemporary Aboriginal artists using a range of mediums and cultural materials, including shell stringing, painting and basket making. Lola Greeno is a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman born on Cape Barren Island. Lola is renowned for her shell necklaces, which are integral to her Tasmanian Aboriginal heritage. Lola has exhibited throughout Australia and overseas including the 2004 Athens Olympics. Currently, Lola is the Program Officer for Aboriginal Arts with Arts Tasmania. Vicki West is a Tasmanian sculptor, weaver and installation artist who works with vines, kelp and textiles. Vicki completed her Master of Fine Arts in 2008 at the University of Tasmania. Judith-Rose Thomas is a Tasmanian artist of the Ben Lomond people whose geometric, mixed-media paintings reflect upon an engagement with the Aboriginal petroglyphs of the north western and north eastern coasts of Tasmania, and comment on the European structures that frame aspects of Aboriginal experience today. In 2002 Judith-Rose completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Honours, and in 2004 achieved a Masters of Fine Arts and Design, both at the University of Tasmania. 13 11:30 – 1:00 Concurrent workshops 1. Communicating through the Arts: Part I: Using the Arts to co-construct meaning with young children In this workshop you will be invited to consider ways in which the arts can be used to support communication with young children, especially when accessing their perspectives on issues of significance. Practical strategies of how to listen to young children to ensure their voices are heard with authenticity will also be explored. Elspeth Stephenson has more than 20 years experience in the field of education, working with children aged from 6 weeks to 16 years, and is now working in the area of pre-service education. Elspeth is undertaking her PhD in Early Childhood; her research focus is the voice of the young child in educational research, particularly in the area of wellbeing during transition. Elspeth is currently working on the development of arts-related research methods which access the authentic voice of the young child, and is Lecturer in Teacher Professional Learning, University of Tasmania. [email protected] 14 Part II: Mathematical concepts through the Arts In this workshop you will be invited to consider ways arts experiences can strengthen mathematical concept learning and extend young children’s capacity to enjoy and express themselves. Practical strategies of how to use art experiences to engage learning across the numeracy curriculum are explored. The ideas presented in these workshops link with principles and outcomes from early years and national curriculum frameworks. Virginia Kinnear’s professional background was as a lawyer, and her initial (serendipitous) entry into early childhood education was through Montessori training and teaching in the USA. After returning to Australia and obtaining her early childhood degree, Virginia worked as an early childhood educator and teacher educator in South Australia for more than a decade. She is currently completing her PhD in early childhood mathematics and is Lecturer in Mathematics Education, University of Tasmania. [email protected] 2. Drawing – your way into a child’s world This workshop will provide the opportunity to work with basic art materials in a playful, enjoyable way within a safe, non-threatening environment. Rosie will share ideas and techniques that she has gathered over her years of working with young children, parents, teachers and community groups. Some of the ideas will reaffirm the way you work, while others may inspire a fresh approach to engage children with artmaking as a visual language. Rosie McKeand is an experienced art educator who has worked as part of the AccessArt team at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery since 2008. AccessArt aims to engage people of all ages and backgrounds with contemporary art, art practice and creativity. During her extensive career Rosie has worked with various communities and educational institutions to encourage creativity and promote the value of art‑making as a way to enhance lives. 3. Being in the Space Jay will take you through a physical dance class designed for children aged 4-6years. The first part of this workshop will look at warm-up games, sequence building and choreographic tools. The second part will be a discussion about practical elements. Jay Watson has a Bachelor of Arts in contemporary dance and has worked for Tasdance in various roles for the last 15 years. He has also worked extensively for Access Arts Link and the Tasmanian Department of Education. Jay also sits on the board for Interweave Arts Association. [email protected] [email protected] 15 1:45 – 3:15pm Concurrent workshops 1a.The seasons through Drama This workshop will demonstrate how drama and movement can be effectively used to reinforce key basic concepts. It will show a practical and simple way of running a drama/movement session that could be reinvented for any number of topics. The workshop will demonstrate how drama sequences and physical participation can encourage oral literacy. It would be advisable for participants to wear loose comfortable clothing, but none of the activities will be very strenuous. Helen Sweeney was a primary classroom teacher for 22 years. Last year she began a new role as drama specialist at Glenorchy Primary School. Her role is federallyfunded and aims to use drama techniques to improve literacy outcomes in students and to teach teachers how to use drama in their classrooms. [email protected] 1b. I Felt this might be fun! You will leave this work shop with a finished felted book mark. All we will use is bubble wrap or a sushi mat, a spray bottle, soapy water, a scrap of curtain net and some carded wool. Many different ideas for how this basic technique may be used with young children, creating reasonably quick results, will be discussed. Sonja Hindrum is a textile artist and designer who has developed site-specific artwork for events such as Illuminations, the Junction Arts Festival and Ten Days on the Island. More recently, in conjunction with an Arts Tasmania residency she developed a prototype of the Talking Skirt, in which audio files are triggered through the use of conductive thread sewn into the lining of a dress. [email protected] 2. Recycled plastics workshop This workshop will provide an interesting, educational and fun set of art activities and using plastic bottles, plastic bags, chip packets and other plastics. Items made in the workshop will demonstrate recycling, reuse and responsibility and important information about safety with plastics will be discussed. This art/education workshop is delivered using a ‘Bridging the Gap’ method that employs the components of engagement, participation, skill development, communication and outcomes, which are the pathways of development in art. Elizabeth Russell-Arnot has had a long career in art: as an educator in art, music, cultural training, community capacity building and art therapy; and as a painter, specialising in finely detailed natural history paintings. While raising two boys with cystic fibrosis, her career turned to writing and illustrating fiction and nonfiction children’s books on natural history subjects. She recently completed her Masters of Contemporary Art at the University of Tasmania, in which the environment became a focus of her work. [email protected] 16 3a. Why offer Song to young children? A practical session with anecdotes and a guitar, for people interested in extending the discussion about why and ways to offer musical experiences. The session will inform parents about lullabies and how to give the child directions with song, assist caregivers to understand the role of music in early childhood learning and the exploration of ideas, and offer simple ways to support adults who may have told themselves that they can’t sing in tune and wonder how to stop that attitude travelling to the next generation! Melinda Risby has studied teaching and child development. She has worked in primary schools, child care and the community. Her professional roles include: establishing a 25 place childcare centre for the Sorell Council, working at Lady Gowrie, employment as a Resource Worker, supporting families with additional needs, and providing training to the children’s services sector. She has co-ordinated several pre-kinder programs and is interested in song, storytelling, improvisation and sustainability. [email protected] 3b. Drama and Storytelling Through sharing well-known stories, as well as picture books, children can be transported to other places, take on new characters, and think in different ways from different perspectives. This handson, experiential workshop will introduce you to some strategies for engaging children in exploring other ways of being. Through the use of an ‘In Role’ strategy this workshop provides ideas for easy ways into drama that won’t lead to chaos or a lack of control. Sharon Pittaway used to be a drama teacher but now is deeply engaged in pre-service teacher education. Sharon has a passion for preparing articulate, thinking teachers and knows that drama is a fabulous tool for this development. Sharon has five children, seven grandchildren and two puppies. [email protected] 3:15 – 4:15 What are the characteristics of an engaging arts experience? Discussion led by Simon Spain and Robert Brown with the key question of ‘What has engaged you and what would engage children?’ 17 Thank you We would like to thank all presenters, workshops leaders and attendees for their valuable contribution to this forum. The Creative Connections in the Early Years project is an initiative of the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation in partnership with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. This forum has been supported by UTAS School of Education Photography; documentation from Creative Connections in the Early Years trial program, by Sarah Foley 18