This dialogue practice can be introduced across all ages of a gallery learning programme, opening up a channel for group interaction with artworks and peer-to-peer learning. Sessions can be held seated in a circle of up to 25 individuals or moving through a gallery in groups of no more than 12.
Examples of recent work with galleries and artists;
Prosper Experiment 2012-13 ‘Copper, Aluminium, Red and Green’
In collaboration with Turner Contemporary, University of Kent and Cognitive Media, we took steps to visualising ideas from a philosophical dialogue inspired by one of Carl Andre’s quotes :
“The periodic table of elements is for me what the color spectrum is for a painter. My ambition as an artist is to be the “Turner of Matter”. As Turner severed color from depiction, I attempt to sever matter from depiction. Copper is more profoundly different from aluminium than green is from red.” Sutinen, ‘Carl Andre: The Turner of Matter’, 9.
See the lively blog which ran up to the experiment and fed back after the different stages had taken place.
http://prospertogether.co.uk/experiments/
Turner Contemporary, Margate
Working with 15 adult ‘Navigators’ and 20 ‘Youth Navigators’ we introduced philosophical enquiry into encounters with the artworks in this exciting new gallery on Margate’s seafront.
La Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid
An introductory inquiry tour interacting with the artworks on the top floor of the Reine Sofia Museum, Madrid. The aim was to engage the new students with an exciting resource in the city whilst establishing a spirit of inquiry for the year ahead.
Creative Partnerships, Manchester
Investigating the nature of ‘a learning environment’ with an artist, architect and group of secondary students in the Imperial War Museum North, Old Trafford.
Coopers Company and Coburn School, Upminster, Essex
A one-off session with a group of A’ level arts students with the aim of establishing a collaborative research space for developing their individual art projects.
Kings College London
A group of artists, researchers. lecturers and medics took part in a series of weekly inquiries, held inside KCL’s wonderful museum of pathology, the Gordon Museum. The group used exhibits (including wax figures made by artists) from the museum collection to stimulate inquiries exploring the links between the worlds of medicine, art and philosophy.
‘Sanctuary’ at Glasgow Museum for Modern Art, Glasgow
GOMA commissioned children’s philosophical tours around Amnesty International’s major exhibition on national borders, featuring work from high profile artists such as Anthony Gormley & Ross Sinclair.
Vault, The Arches Glasgow
A multi-media exhibition and club night hosted by the renowned Arches Theatre and Club venue