Ehsan Akbari (Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, Canada)

Sensing the Environmental through Art Education

In this presentation, I will explore ways educators can integrate art and sensory education to sensitize learners to environmental issues. Bertling (2023) argued for the urgency of incorporating eco-pedagogy in art education to inspire a generation of ecologically aware citizens. Such teaching aims to nourish learners’ connection to the natural world, make visible and sensible the impacts of climate change and inspire climate activism. Sensory arts-based methods are well suited for these objectives. I will outline several examples of artists and art-based methods, such as soundscape compositions, sensory mapping, and sensory photography, as tools that can be integrated into eco- pedagogy. I will focus particularly on doing observational drawings of trees. Observational drawing is a profoundly effective strategy for noticing that which eludes our sensory consciousness. Drawing trees provides an entry point into the vast networks of interconnections among our ancient arboreal friends and all the living things that depend on them for food, shelter, air and all the necessities of life. These methods and various artistic examples will be presented as tools educators can use to make visible and sensible the invisible bonds between the human and non-human.
Keywords: Ecopedagogy; Sensory Education; Arts Education; Sensory Arts-Based Methods; Environmental awareness

Carina Rose (carina rose design, Montreal, Canada)

Skin, Somas and Scores: Experiential movement practices for the architectural process

This paper presents my research on translating the ground-breaking concepts from embodiment theory, phenomenology and findings from cognitive science into experiential somatic awareness and improvisational movement methods for architectural education and practice. Architecture’s principal media for composing - space, form, movement, time - correspond to those of the movement and somatic arts. These art forms offer a vast source of psycho-physical knowledge and methods for bodily intelligence to bypass the limitations of designing from prevalent disembodied, ocular-centric, dualistic thinking processes.
In interweaving my disciplines of architect, movement artist and ecologist, I am investigating how somatic and improvisation practices can be primary resources to support ethical, atmospheric and architectural creativity. Conceptual and applied methods from artistic revolutions in dance and movement arts that challenged traditional paradigms and redefined aesthetics, embodiment, atmosphere, and spatiality are central to my research. The premise is that these experiential methods induce perceptual shifts with the potential to revolutionize architects’ creative relationship with all life forms, matter, built space and natural environments and, in doing so, instigate the design of atmospheres and architectonics that support the thriving of all life.
Keywords: Embodied Space; Improvisation; Somatics; Architectural education; Ethical design

Nathaly Karina Calderón Millán (University of Chile, Chile)

Heritage Education and Pedagogical Innovation: Neurosciences, Games and Audiovisuals in Puente Alto

The project developed multimodal material that linked heritage education with neuroeducation. The proposal was made to disseminate the heritage of Puente Alto, a peripheral town of Santiago de Chile that has yet to be studied much. For the project, an animated audiovisual short was created, a fictional story with typical characters from Puente Alto. It contains original music made according to the musical eras of the town. The audiovisual also showed places recognized by the inhabitants, some existing and others that have already disappeared but continue in the memory of the inhabitants. In connection with continuity with the audiovisual, a board game was created that contained characters that appeared in the audiovisual, places in Puente Alto that also appeared, and highlighted the natural heritage, questions of challenges, knowledge, and opinion. This multimodal cycle was called "I remember you, Puente Alto!" It was designed to achieve significant learning using the guidelines of neuroeducation, appealing to emotions, inviting movement, using gamification, and stimulating the senses of hearing, sight, and touch. The project was applied to a pilot of 10 workshops with children and adults, to which an information-gathering instrument was used to analyze the experience and impact of the methodology.
Keywords: Multisensory, multimodal, education, heritage