From conducting this project, I have become aware of the following:
-D305 is not seen as part of the course, yet it is extremely present in everyone’s experience. I really want it to be one.
-D035 is not seen as a resource
-D305 is considered to be an uninviting space with no sense of identity.
-Spaces that are exciting, safe, inspiring, aid learning. (the space is the teacher)
-D305 has lots of potential that is not always tapped into
-That the amount of students using the room could offer dynamic possibilities and new ways of sharing (asynchronous)
-That limitations are possibilities
-That students are not aware they have agency over their learning space. (and we need to find ways to offer this more through taught sessions)
-That coming in to find a piece of yours on the wall can make a student feel a sense of belonging and pride.
-That sometimes tutors forget they have agency over the space, or there is not enough time to practice this.
-That the scale of the room can be intimidating
-That zoning could be useful
-That students are not aware when they can use the studio for independent study: how could you change this? What could bring you to the room?
-That a learning space can, for many, also be a safe space, especially for those in challenging / vulnerable situations.
-That spaces that are not used are lost.
-That the course needs physical space.
-That every theory is also based on another theory that might be marginalised
-That experimental, absurdist, oblique methods can be really useful in academic research. They can also give voice to thoughts less tapped into and shift perspectives.
-That research methods can also be interventions.
-That thinking with others feels incredible.
-That sharing research with students feels vulnerable in the best of ways.
-That I need to remember to trial and adapt
-That I enjoy engaging with theory
-That I work in a giving environment
-That we are the institution and can create change.
-That manifestos are statements of intention and hope
-That artistic research and academic research are extremely close
-That I can notice the research conducted for the pgcert entering my artistic practice.
I have tried to form the above in a sort of manifesto… (work in progress)
A school is a building with a school in it. Make this school
Say hello to the room every time you come in. It will say hello back
Take space, give space
Make a choreography of moving desks and practice often.
You do not make alone you make within circumstances. Acknowledge them. Share with your circumstances (human and non human)
Limitations are resources. Choose to maintain this belief. Maintenance is hard work.
Mess up, clean up.
Celebrate the left overs as bizarre artefacts from those that came and those to come.
Exhibit your trash.
Leave something that you would like to find.
Meet everyone that enters this room.
Make a space that is safe for you and others. Even if you are not there.
Create areas for different activity.
Enter from one door and leave from another
Share the information you’ve got
Read the signs, look at the signs, practice the signs, laugh at the signs. You can make your own signs
Enter from one door and leave from another
Leave your name and contact on things you decide to leave
Take a resource from a session you did not attend
Sit in every chair in the room