horizons | insea 2007 germany

In recent years the dynamics of art education research and development have become remarkably prolific in Germany as well as in other countries. When we look back at the conferences organised by the International Society of Education through Art (InSEA) (New York 2002, Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallin 2003, Istanbul 2004), we can get a fair impression of this international development. However, the mentioned conferences also highlighted two emerging problems. On the one hand, the events were burdened with a vast number of heterogeneous contributions so that goal-oriented and purposeful research conferences specialising on world-wide innovations could not take place. On the other hand, it has become obvious that German Art education no longer has an important say in the discussion on new approaches in this area despite the leading role Germany has played internationally for decades. When we now take a closer look at the innovative developments taking place in the area of art education in Germany, it also becomes clear that the marginal position which we are occupying at the moment is by no means justified. In fact, the InSEA conferences of the past have confirmed that the developments we are witnessing in Germany have fuelled our rise to a leading position in the research and implementation of art educational potentials.

Considering this we are well aware of the fact that holding an InSEA Art Education Research Conference in Germany is as urgent as it is necessary. Moreover, the initiators of the conference in question, Prof. Dr. Joachim Kettel of the Karlsruhe University of Education, and Prof. Dr. Carl-Peter Buschkühle of the Heidelberg University of Education were expressly asked by leading representatives of the InSEA during the Istanbul conference in July 2004 to hold a conference in Germany. The aim is to present the national development and progress in this area to an international panel as well as introduce it into the ongoing worldwide discussion on the subject. In particular with regard to the discussion on education following the PISA survey it has become necessary to openly and boldly discuss the significance and ranking of art education as well as the education possibilities in the art sector. However, this traditional and important education sector is not included in the PISA survey despite the fact that our culture, dominated by processes of aestheticisation as well as image media, is a testament to the growing and central importance of art education. All over the world art educators are exploring new ways that lead to modern art education, and the USA and Finland in particular have shown remarkable progress and assumed a leading position in the ensuing debate. But also the German art education has sought new paths in recent years and has provided new perspectives in theory and practical application which in turn create new approaches towards specialised developments.

The Symposia on Art Education in Heidelberg (2001) and Karlsruhe (2003) deserve a special mention since they are key milestones in the research and development work. The InSEA Art Education Research Congress 2007 aims at integrating the ongoing German discussion into the international debate and also at providing valuable input for the world-wide development in art education. In addition, international feedback can also have an impact on the research work in Germany. This is a step long overdue but welcome nonetheless to promote the internationalisation of art education in Germany where exchange can take place and co-operation work be supported within Europe. Many German colleagues will take advantage of the congress to present their innovative work for the first time to an international audience and discuss their findings on an international level. And many colleagues from abroad will have the first-time opportunity to present their new approaches to German art specialists and positively contribute to the German development – a development which has in fact become too self-reliant for quite some time.

The aim of the congress will be to present new methods of teaching and learning in the framework of art education. The aim is also a discussion on how to co-ordinate questions of creativity and self-education with questions on individual and societal creation skills and with a multi-perspective generation of knowledge in a complex society. At the same time, the paradigmatic potentials for reforms in art education which reflect on the education process in general as well as the future development of colleges and universities will be dealt with at the congress.

Art education is a discipline which does not stand alone, instead it is closely connected and linked to art, education sciences and culture and media theory as well as to culture and education politics. As a result, the InSEA Art Education Research Congress is also expected to open up the specialised discussion and integrate groundbreaking and important perspectives of art education obtained from international research work into the above mentioned disciplines. For the first time since the eighties this congress provides a unique platform where most recent developments can be discussed as well as providing a common ground where art education can be connected to significant developments in the related disciplines.

Prof. Dr. Carl-Peter Buschkühle, University of Education Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Joachim Kettel, University of Education Karlsruhe

Major Topics of the Congress
Common theme: Horizons | insea – Art Education Research and Development Congress

In recent years the dynamics of art education research and development have become remarkably prolific in Germany as well as in other countries. In particular with regard to the discussion on education following the PISA survey it has become necessary to openly and boldly discuss the significance and ranking of art education as well as the education possibilities in the art sector. However, this traditional and important education sector is not included in the PISA survey despite the fact that our culture, dominated by processes of aestheticisation as well as image media, is a testament to the growing and central importance of art education.
The aim of the congress will be to present new methods of teaching and learning in the framework of art education. The aim is also a discussion on how to co-ordinate questions of creativity and self-education with questions on individual and societal creation skills and with a multi-perspective generation of knowledge in a complex society. At the same time, the paradigmatic potentials for reforms in art education which reflect on the education process in general as well as the future development of colleges and universities will be dealt with at the congress.

Major topics are:

- New forms of art education / art-related teaching concepts
- Project work in art education
- Art education and multidisciplinarity (multidisciplinary art pedagogy / educational science)
- Art education and the new media
- Art education and the development at schools
- Opening up of schools and out of school art education, social aspects of art education
- Forms of art reception
- Development of a personality through art

Host Country and University
Germany will be the country to host the InSEA Congress. The federal state of Baden-Württemberg will be the German Land where the Research Congress takes place and both the Land and the two host universities, the Universities of Education in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, are more than happy to welcome the participants of the congress. The cities of Heidelberg and Karlsruhe are university strongholds of national importance. A large number of universities and institutes dedicated to cutting-edge research are also located here in addition to the above-mentioned universities of education. The participants of the congress can enjoy a dense cultural infrastracture marked by an abundance of world-famous cultural sites, renowned museums and galleries as well as art associations.

The Universities of Education in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe along with their respective Art Departments have joined forces to host the congress. For many years, both departments have been actively involved in the congress topics 'Education and Research’, where their heads of department were responsible for the organisation of international conferences on the research topic of art education which took place in Heidelberg in 2001 and Karlsruhe in 2003.

Date of the Congress
Planning is going well for the Research and Development Congress to take place at the end of the summer term 2007, i.e. from 17th of July.

Time Schedule and Organisation
Day of arrival will be Monday, 16th July, and the opening of the Research Congress will be on Tuesday, 17th July. There are three days of congress sessions of the Development Congress with the official opening on Wednesday, 18th July – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – where the congress will officially end on Friday.

From Saturday, 21st July the participants can book and enjoy an extensive cultural and social programme. Among the many possibilities which they can take advantage of are joint excursions as well as individual visits to cultural sites and museums located in the immediate vicinity or in the surrounding region (such as Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt famous for its Art Nouveau buildings and art, the Block Beuys in Darmstadt, the many museums of Frankfurt, the Monastery of Maulbrunn, and the Strasbourg Münster (cathedral) in the Alsace region, to name a few).

The participants may even stay for the week-end to individually explore the region and its many riches. Or they will travel to worlds famous Documenta in Kassel. The international Frankfurt (Main) Airport is a major hub for travel to all four corners of the globe and offers excellent arrival and departure possibilities.