THE IMPACT OF WAR ON THE CREATIVE PRACTICES OF CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN ARTISTS AND STUDENTS IN HIGHER ARTS EDUCATION

Cutting Edge of the Contemporary: KNUST, Accra, and the Ghanaian Contemporary Art Movement

The Heresy of Didactic Art

This article examines a paradigmatic change of contemporary art education in the context of visual culture and focus to the integrity of arts in formal and informal art education. The article is based on an international research “Contemporary art and visual culture in education” which reveals the problematic aspects of contemporary arts and visual culture in education in general. The research method was the discourse analysis of the participants and researchers, who presented the insights in reflective groups and during the interview with teachers and educators.This paper explores how contemporary cultural context and the spread of visual culture provide preconditions for changes in art education. The aim of the article is to analyze theproblems and perspectives of integral arts education in formal and non-formal education: what the educational challenges and opportunities appear in the context of contemporary art and visual culture? How the integral arts could be realized in art education practice in different arts disciplines and areas of education?Contemporary art and visual culture is increasingly multidimensional, the wide range of visual art forms integral with per formative arts, new technologies and media merge the limits between the arts disciplines. That becomes relevant pedagogical problem with the fact that arts education is traditionally allocated to the separate arts subjects such as music, art, theatre, dance, which also can also be divided into separate areas. This subject segregation of the school curriculum and strong subject orientation limits multimodal contemporary arts education. Secondary Education programs provide opportunities for several options of arts education disciplines (photography, cinema art, graphic design, contemporary music technologies), but it needs special resources for the schools and professional teachers. Many schools follow on traditional model of teaching art and still focusing on simple interpretation of modern artworks, different media and technical skills.Contemporary model of teaching integrated arts and visual culture in education is challenging, because it is based on visual literacy and critical thinking skills, it emphasizes inquiry-based education, a critical understanding of contemporary art practices, problem solving and creating new valuable ideas. Knowledge and experiences came from various sources: formal, non-formal, accidental, individual.Great potential for contemporary art education has non-formal art education programs and projects. Successful project-based initiatives in art education have been excellent examples of arts integration.Artists and other creative people involved into a process of education, their collaboration with schools and communities could initiate some interdisciplinary and collaborative practices. Non-formal arts education environment creates more space for creativity, freedom and diversity. Additional arts education programs, museum and gallery education, artistic competitions and international projects allows for the wider development of arts education. Art education in the new age requires changing attitudes towards learning and teaching, changing roles of the educator and new learning environments.

The National: New Australian Art

The article reviews the reports delivered on November 1–3, 2022, at the International Research-to-Practice Conference Media Art—XXI Century: Genesis, Art Programs, Education Problems. It was organized by the Russian Academy of Arts, the Research Institute of Theory and History of Fine Arts, the State Institute for Art Studies, Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Design and Applied Arts, the Moscow Architectural Institute (State Academy), and the National Academy of Design. The conference aimed at comprehending the current state of media art in the context of digitalization of classical works and methods of their exposure; at identifying key program and aesthetic dominants in media art; and at systematizing the most relevant educational projects. The organizers suggested the following aspects as the major research focuses: classical arts and media in digital discourse; new media in the socio-cultural environment; current media forms and their genesis; new media in the urban environment; interdisciplinary and authorial projects; educational processes and new competencies. Cultural institutions today are faced with the search for a definition of materiality, with fixation of transitory art; and in response, contemporary art studies are forced to develop new theoretical concepts to be used in scholarly discourse. It is how contemporary media, digital and post-digital technologies influence the state and development of contemporary art and art history practice, architecture, design, and decorative arts, that became the key research task of Media Art—XXI Century Conference. The conference demonstrated the wide range of aesthetic, art history, culturological and pedagogical aspects, which are incorporated in the creation, exposure, and further circulation of media art in the socio-cultural space.

This dissertation explores the roles and functions of art college counselors in supporting students' cultural identity development in a multicultural context. With the acceleration of globalization and the increasing prominence of cultural diversity in art education, the relationship between students' cultural identity and artistic creation has become more complex. Through literature review and qualitative research, this paper analyzes how counselors can help students balance their personal cultural identity and artistic expression in a multicultural environment, and explores the strategies and practices of counselors in coping with cultural conflicts and supporting students' cross-cultural adaptation. The study shows that tutors help students integrate their personal cultural backgrounds into their artistic creations through cultural sensitivity, cross-cultural communication activities and personalized tutoring to promote their creativity and growth in a multicultural context. The dissertation makes recommendations to strengthen counselors' intercultural training and enrich educational resources to further support art college students' cultural identity development and intercultural creativity.

When engaging in contemporary community art practices, art educators question and reflect upon daily life aesthetics, creating micro-narratives and provoking actions through poesis and metaphors. Performative practices converge in political events using hybrid languages in-between the borders of various fields where educational practices may be generated through participatory research and collaborative art processes. In this chapter we describe several practices and strategies of activism related to art education research by the authors with intention of promoting socially engaged justice through artistic process in the community. The strategies employed by the authors are based on collaborative pedagogical approaches adopted from contemporary art practices and artistic tools, such as collaborative sketchbooks, kilts, drifts, drawing festivals and online exhibitions. These approaches promote shared learning experience and democratic participation through the arts, and ultimately help to develop community cohesion, solidarity and social justice.

This curatorial text, originally published in the catalogue for the group exhibition Fresh Visions 2013: From University to Universe (held in the galleries of OCT Contemporary Art Terminal in Shenzhen (OCAT Shenzhen) from 7 September to 7 November 2013), presents co-curator (with Pu Hong and Li Rongwei) Edward Sanderson�s experiences during the preparation for the show and his conclusions drawn from those experiences. Fresh Visions is an annual exhibition established by the state-run He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen in 2004, and the 2013 edition marked the first time that OCAT Shenzhen (administered by the He Xiangning Art Museum) hosted the show. The exhibition features selected artworks from the Oil Painting Department degree shows of the top nine art academies of China: Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing), Academy of Art & Design, Tsinghua University (Beijing), China Academy of Art (Hangzhou), Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts (Chongqing), Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (Guangzhou), Luxun Academy of Fine Arts (Shenyang), Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (Tianjin), Hubei Academy of Fine Arts (Wuhan) and Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts (Xi'an). The author's experience of visiting the degree shows while researching for the exhibition has led him to propose that higher education in art in China (as exemplified by these academies) remains dominated by conservative and uncritical attitudes towards art creation. The level of skill on display was of a consistently high standard, but the author found the level of creativity to be lacking. The author attributes this to a lack of criticality in the practices of the artists, apparently in part due to the educational environment itself. Making an analogy to a complaint regarding restrictive systems of assessment in US MFA programmes, the author highlights the risks of a similar inflexibility in the academic systems of China, and warns of the consequences of such a situation for the art world that these graduates are entering.

Art education has long been a vital domain for expressing, preserving, and transmitting cultural memory and national values. In an era marked by globalization and rapid digitalization, these values face challenges, with younger generations often exposed to transnational and multicultural narratives that may overshadow local traditions. This study proposes a transdisciplinary framework in art education to bridge cultural heritage with modern educational content, ensuring a balanced approach to teaching both artistic techniques and cultural identity. Through mixed methods—including qualitative interviews, case studies, and a quantitative experimental study—this research assesses the effectiveness of integrating cultural memory and national values in art education. Our findings underscore the value of a curriculum focused on national identity, showing significant improvements in students’ awareness and appreciation of their cultural roots. Additionally, we explore challenges faced by educators and institutions in implementing transdisciplinary approaches. This study contributes to a growing field of educational research emphasizing cultural heritage in contemporary learning, offering insights for policymakers, educators, and curriculum developers. Results suggest that a transdisciplinary approach in art education fosters a culturally aware and globally informed student body, equipped to navigate and appreciate both local and global perspectives. This article explores the intersection of transdisciplinary research and art education, focusing on the role of cultural memory and national values in modern artistic content. As societies undergo rapid globalization and modernization, art education plays a crucial role in preserving and reshaping cultural identities, fostering national values, and transmitting collective memory through art. By adopting a transdisciplinary research approach, which integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines such as art history, sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies, art education systems can provide more holistic and contextually relevant frameworks for understanding national identity in the modern world. This article examines how cultural memory is encoded in visual arts, the reinterpretation of national values in contemporary artistic practices, and the transformative potential of art education in shaping national consciousness. Through the lens of transdisciplinary research, the paper highlights the evolving nature of national values in art education and their relevance in the digital age, where global and local influences converge.

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Young children are experts in creating unpredictable </span><span>projects akin to the work of contemporary artists and within contemporary art practices. The author utilized a hybrid method of a/r/tography and action research to reveal the </span><span>relational moments, specifically conversations, collaborative </span><span>art making, and interactions of early learners. Contemporary </span><span>art, specifically as it relates to relational aesthetics, has the </span><span>potential to blend with pedagogy and point to new directions for art education of young children: an artful pedagogy. Art </span><span>created with a relational aesthetic emphasizes and only exists from participation and interactivity. Within the context of classroom experiences, compelling findings surrounding unpredictable projects and young learners as experts are deeply explored. In particular, implications are brought into focus </span><span>for visualizing conversations with young learners through art. The connections of relational aesthetics in art education to artful pedagogy are revealed through images of conceptual work by young learners and blurry photographs. Interpreting relational aesthetics with a pedagogical lens led to conclusions that point to an elevated view of the art of young children, a view that reveals the possibilities and further questions for art education that is informed by contemporary art. An artful pedagogy suggests that art education catch up with </span><span>contemporary art and reflect the living inquiry, curriculum, </span><span>and art of the educator and young learners. </span></p></div></div></div></div>

Objectives The purpose of this study is to suggest implications for art education methods for pre-service early childhood teachers by exploring the educational meaning of art play experiences based on contemporary art. Methods To this end contemporary art-based art play was conducted for 14 weeks for 39 pre-service early childhood teachers who took the ‘Creative Arts Education’ course in the first semester of 2022 at a three-year university located in S city. The data collected in this study are personal portfolios, art play creation results ppt, and reflective journal. Results The results of the study showed that pre-service early childhood teachers experienced ‘discovering the artist within themselves’, ‘expanding art experience into daily life’, ‘positive perception of play-centered art education’, ‘improving confidence through proactive art play practice’ through the art play based on contemporary art. Conclusions Based on the results of this study, it was revealed that contemporary art-based art play experiences have educational value in art education for pre-service early childhood teachers, and further implications related to art education for pre-service early childhood teachers were suggested.

The paper highlights the history of the creation of the Formal Art Workshop (FAW) and the educational-professional program Multimedia and Visual Art (MVA) at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (NAOMA) initiated by the authors of the article, Andriy Bludov and Andriy Tsoi. In order to comprehensively outline the subject, the changes in art education throughout the history of NAOMA, as the successor of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts founded in 1917, were analyzed. The consequences of Soviet cultural and educational policy in Ukraine and the relevance of modernizing art education in accordance with the European integration strategy are outlined. The break from socialist realist methods in the educational programs of higher education institutions during the first 25 years after Ukraine gained independence and the need for more systematic changes are discussed. The phased expansion of NAOMA’s capacity to train artists able to work in contemporary art is shown, starting from 2019 when the FAW was created within the Department of Painting and Composition. The reasons for opening the MVA at the Department of Scenography and Multimedia are identified. A comparative analysis of FAW and MVA is conducted, with an emphasis on their program principles, teaching methods, and the nature of the tasks assigned to students. The exhibition activities of FAW and MVA and the individual achievements of their students at both local and international levels were described. The significance of the establishment and activities of FAW and MVA was analyzed in the context of the history of the modernization of Ukrainian art education in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Taking as its premise that contemporary art education, much like contemporary art itself, is deeply engaged with critical questions about the planet and social injustice, I argue in this article that art education would benefit from further strengthening its grounding in the processes and practices of contemporary artists. Exploring contemporary art education through the framework of more-than-human care and postqualitative ontologies, insights are drawn from practicing artists–researchers. Central to this inquiry is the exploration of how artists–researchers may embody caring and compassionate practices in their creative processes with more-than-human lives. More-than-human care and postqualitative ontologies are understood through the lens of the minor gesture, an approach applicable at all levels of art education. The study reveals how, through caring practices, a deeper comprehension of emotions, experiences, and perspectives may emerge, fostering richer connections among individuals and more-than-human lives.

Scholarship on modern and contemporary art has emerged as a significant subfield within the larger field of the art of South Asia, especially since the 1990s. Arguing against earlier historicist readings that presented Europe as the center from which modernism was transmitted to the rest of the world, scholars have critically examined transcontinental artistic encounters and radical aesthetic negotiations in the colony and the post-colony. Moving away from a center-periphery model that inevitably marks modern art in South Asia as merely derivative of its Western counterpart, recent scholarship has presented a number of methodological alternatives appropriate for examining the aesthetic and political imperatives of modern and contemporary art in South Asia on its own terms. Much of this scholarship has paralleled, intersected with, and drawn on the theoretical frames made available by postcolonial and subaltern studies. Thus, although a relatively new arena of inquiry, the methodological sophistication and academic rigor demonstrated by recent scholarship has very rapidly transformed the study of modern and contemporary South Asian art into a subfield with its own vocabulary and lexicon. While significant overlaps exist, the key concerns for the study of modernism, however, differ constitutively from the questions that are central to the study of contemporary art practices. Negotiations between traditional forms and modernist aesthetics, intersections between internationalism and national identity, and questions of authenticity and derivativeness have informed scholarly engagements with the art of the late 19th century and the 20th century. In contrast, globalization and its attendant cultural transformations, accelerated migration and the increased global mobility of both artworks and artists, the rise of new media and the reconfiguration of older aesthetic imperatives, and, in recent years, an alteration in the role of the artist and the audience have emerged as organizing themes for studies on contemporary art. Despite this divergence, the study of modern and contemporary South Asian art, nevertheless, shares a set of theoretical and methodological predilections that give this subfield conceptual coherence. Many of the entries in this article demonstrate that these predilections result from a broader interest in questions of anti-imperialism, marginality, difference, and otherness as articulated through visual representation. This perhaps is inevitable given that the genealogy of this new subfield can be traced to the anticolonial tenor of early-20th-century scholarship on modern South Asian art, citations for which have also been included in this bibliography.

The methods of teaching art history in The Academy of Fine Arts in the 20th century always were based mainly on a concept of a connoisseur art science. The students of the Academy of arts must deeply understand the nature of creativity, so in addition to studying theoretical and historical disciplines. The art historian students at the Academy of arts spend many hours drawing and painting. They have a unique opportunity to study the technique and technology of art materials in academic laboratories and production workshops. Traditionally, an art historian who graduated from the Academy of arts works in a museum, teaches, works as an art critic, art expert, or deals with attribution of works of art. Now the boundaries of the profession have expanded, thanks to the emergence of curatorial institutions, art dealers, gallery business, the expansion of virtual space, and contemporary art strategies. Modern art history education is influenced by postmodern aesthetics and cultural studies, philosophy, the innovative technologies, the demands of an information and communication constantly changing market society, and so on. The problem of understanding the authenticity of an art work in the conditions of total reproduction and improvement of virtual technologies has also become one of the most significant. The need to switch to full distance learning in connection with the pandemic had both its negative sides and contributed to the development of new educational ideas, gave rise to interesting and unexpected projects that cover a wide audience. In the modern world, there is a process of threatening discommunication associated with the gap between representatives of mass and elite culture, between different layers of the society. The difference is not so much between cultures, but rather there is a lack of understanding between social stratums of society, between age and social groups. In particular, the gap between the previous links in the author-critic-artist chain has increased. The situation in the modern world and art, associated with the collapse of traditionalism and the emergence of non-traditional structures, the time of re-evaluation, the search for new ways to translate cultural experience poses a problem for researchers and teachers to understand and adequately explain the latest processes and phenomena occurring in the artistic space, which should be reflected in art education. The theoretical concept of criticism and its special functions is being developed in the Russian visual art of the 21st century. It performs a special type of artistic, analytical, and creative activity. In different periods of the existence of art criticism, certain features of it came to the fore, depending on the paradigm of the era. Often in modern artistic activity, the functions of critic and curator are combined, the functions of these spheres of activity merge together. It is the critic and the curator who become the interpreters of a work of art and sometimes the perception of an artistic phenomenon or event depends on their interpretation. In the modern world, critics and curators often act as the creators of an artistic concept or a specific art event, and as analysts who evaluate the phenomena. Сriticism and curatorship are creative professions that perform not only the tasks of expertise and evaluation, they are the field of artistic creativity, they have their own creative role. The basis of such professional qualities can be an academic art school, which has all the necessary conditions to achieve the modern level of art studies. Moreover, modern criticism, penetrating the field of art, becomes a part of art itself. Therefore, in the modern cultural space, critics and curators can be more in demand, and sometimes more vividly realized, than even artists trained within the traditional academic system.