Els de Ceuster

De Ceuster Els

Sustainability in arts education

Els De Ceuster is a painter who teaches in the educational master programme of PXL-MAD School of Arts. Her research project “sustainability in arts education” is an education innovation project directed at exploring opportunities to embed sustainability and the SDG’s deeper into both the curriculum of the (educational) Master degree and the broader field of arts education. The goal is to achieve this without compromising on artistic quality nor put in place drastic restrictions in the artistic process.

Different approaches of sustainability in visual arts education are investigated. First, we try to define sustainability from within the domain of visual arts. Then we explore which specific actions and initiatives are relevant to promote this. The perspective of students and stakeholders are to be considered with special attention, and with a critical appraisal of the practical execution of these initiatives. What should characterize this research, is its participatory approach, the involvement of the work field, of students and of artists.

An important outcome of the research will be to set up a growing/living archive. This archive will be both mobile and fixed in nature, with the intention of bridging the work field and the (educational) Master. The archive in a broad sense will serve as a platform for communication, reflection, and experiment for sustainable change in the art practice of artist-teachers.