It’s nine o’clock in the morning; sleepy children enter their classroom and their eyes open a little wider when they see the furniture arranged in an unexpected way: tables stacked up, chairs at different heights or even turned upside down on the floor. At first, this scene will seem strange to them, but it will quickly become a wonderful stimulus for them to begin exploring new ways of relating to space. What worlds and possibilities open up before their child’s imagination?
This transformation of the space seeks to foster new discoveries through the elements of the environment: their weight, their smell, their texture or the marks they leave behind. Objects as common as a glass, a stone or a door can be starting points to awaken curiosity and pose questions that initiate play and learning. What is their purpose? What else could they be used for? What materials are they made of? These proposals open the door to a world of creative possibilities that invite us to feel and investigate the environment from new perspectives.
Would you be surprised if I told you that we are in art class? Traditionally, art in its various forms has been considered an exclusive domain for those who possess an innate talent. However, in recent decades, this perception has changed, recognizing the importance of art not only in the area of visual arts, but also, from its multidisciplinary nature, in transversal education and research .
Art and childhood
Art, at its core, invites us to explore the unknown. It allows us to venture down uncharted paths, where logic is often challenged and intuition guides us toward new and unexpected possibilities. It teaches us that there is no single correct way of seeing or doing things, and that in the diversity of perspectives, contexts and capabilities lies the richness of the human experience.
In the classroom, for example, the teacher could experiment with methods of inquiry and play by changing her body posture and placing herself in unusual places in the room, such as crouching down and facing a corner. How will the students react to meeting the teacher in this position? She could also initiate an activity where the students have to find ways to make the space lighter, heavier, or maximize and minimize its occupancy, expressing abstract concepts with their bodies and voices.
We can imagine the students forming a line with the arrangement of their bodies, imagining it as a snake moving from a bird’s eye view, moving slowly while exploring the terrain. From this playful proposal, we can establish a different order that encourages collectivity and shared discovery, breaking with the rigidity of the military order and orienting it towards an experience of adventure and teamwork.
One more tool to develop ourselves
Today, contemporary art is valued as an essential tool for integral development, capable of fostering critical reflection , emotional expression and conscious intervention with the environment. In addition, it enriches learning in all subjects at school.
The purpose of art education is not necessarily to train artists, but to develop in students a sensitivity that allows them to perceive, think and feel their reality in a deeper way. Far from being a luxury, art acts as a transformative force that invites us to observe and understand the world from different perspectives. Art encourages us to rediscover the everyday as a key source of inspiration for action and reflection.
Creativity and intuition: beyond logic
Artistic creativity is not subject to rigid rules: it adapts to each particular situation and is nourished by the intuition and trust of the teacher, allowing each student to feel free to explore without fear of error, since this is an essential part of the creative process.
One of the most important lessons that art teaches us is that the process is more valuable than the final result. The artistic experience becomes a window into the uncertain and the unknown, understanding that the path taken is the basis of learning. What is truly meaningful is the experience of creation: the time spent observing, experimenting, failing and trying again.
Through this process, participants develop an aesthetic and intellectual sensibility that not only makes them better creators, but also better observers and conscious citizens of the world around them.
The creative process as an end in itself
In my open-access book Perceiving and Transforming the Everyday: Performative-Artistic Parameters for Working with Children, I present a new way of connecting with the world of children and fostering meaningful learning through contemporary art. It includes examples, experiences, and tools that help us revitalize our creativity and apply our uniqueness in our work as teachers; when it comes to devising, making, interpreting, and communicating. Through experimentation with our bodies, the space, materials, and objects that surround us, the artistic experience invites us to see the everyday in a new and surprising way. It encourages us to put aside the fixed ideas that limit us and that always lead us to the same places and ways of thinking.
Author Bio: Alba Soto Gutierrez is a Research Professor specializing in art and education at the University of Cádiz