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Brief overview
Input, exchange, outlook
The networking conference provided a space for intensive exchange on the insights gained so far from the research projects of the funding guideline. Commonalities and differences were debated and the impact of the insights on science, practice, and politics was discussed.
The conference began on Wednesday with workshops with continuing education offerings for the middle section of the funding guideline. On Thursday, results from the meta-project were presented. Afterwards, the projects discussed their research process and preliminary results with each other in discussion rooms. Two keynotes from science and practice provided additional impulses for the further research process. This was followed by a conversation about the second collective publication of the funding guideline. Finally, it was about preparing the gained project results for the interested public from science and cultural arts education practice. On the last networking day, the participants answered questions in the World Café about the role of researchers in the research process, about success factors for cultural work in rural areas and about the future of research on cultural arts education in rural areas. An expert conversation on practical educational work was the last item on the conference agenda.
For more insight into the content of the conference, read on. The videos of the keynotes and expert discussions can be found below.
... About the Contents
Input for the middle section
The conference was opened by the Middle Section Day with a diverse selection of workshops aimed at doctoral candidates. In the "Writing Workshop," Dr. Anette Rein gave the advice to proceed aesthetically appealing when writing and to write by hand from time to time to positively influence the writing process. A nice notebook and a pen can help. In the "Doctoral Workshop," Dr. Matthias Schwartzkopf pointed out the so-called SMART method. This stands for "Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely" and provides a framework for structuring projects sensibly. In the workshop "How to: Storytelling in Lectures" by Dr. Luise Fischer, it was about how researchers can make lectures exciting and sometimes personal. Technical knowledge was conveyed in the workshop "How to: Project Application" by Dr. Christiane Füldner and Birgit Hünniger of the University of Leipzig's Research Service. In the workshop "Meet the Editors," there was the opportunity to ask questions about doctoral studies and publication to the publishers Barbara Budrich and transcript.
Intense exchange and networking
Professor Nina Kolleck, project leader of the meta-project, and Dr. Braig from the BMBF opened the second day of the networking conference with welcoming words. Afterwards, Nina Kolleck presented the essential contents and procedures of the forthcoming systematic review. Dr. Luise Fischer then discussed the status of the English-language review and the discourse in the English-language expert community on cultural arts education in rural areas. After a look at Lea Fobel's quantitative analyses, discussion spaces were opened for exchange and networking between the projects. In project presentations, they presented their research progress and discussed any emerging questions together.
Insights into the diverse debates
In the discussion room titled "Understanding and Changing Culture", the researchers discussed the understanding of culture as a field of tension. Under the motto "On the glasses, ready, art!" the Ma-ma-Märchenprinz project, for example, asked whether aesthetic experiences through digital museum visits with virtual reality glasses can match the analog museum experience. Other project presentations led to considerations about who exactly goes to the theater or what forms of belonging there are in rural areas and how they change.
In the discussion room "Individual/family factors and structural framework conditions", the focus was on the access of children and adolescents to cultural arts education in rural areas. The ElKuBi project pointed out that parents play a key role in this, as they enable mobility. The different views on the functions of cultural arts education were also discussed. For example, municipal politicians see cultural arts education as a means of increasing the attractiveness of the region, while educational actors emphasize its importance for young people on site.
In the project discussion room "Identity and Relationship", the role of researchers in research projects was discussed. Researchers are not invisible in research situations - by their presence in social situations and the questions they ask, they automatically become part of these situations. This raises questions of necessary reflexivity - a topic that was taken up in the subsequent keynote. In the "Networks and Cooperations" group, the challenges and conditions for the success of cultural arts education in rural areas were discussed. In particular, the lack of financial and personnel resources as well as mobility challenges were identified as problems.
Impulses from science and practice
To provide additional impulses for research in addition to discussion and mutual stimulation, keynotes from research and practice of cultural arts education in rural areas followed the group discussions.
Professor Gabrielle Ivinson from Manchester Metropolitan University showed how a posthuman/new materialism paradigm can change our perception of research and enable a different approach and type of knowledge production. For example, a proactive research approach can be pursued in which researchers also consciously incorporate aesthetic approaches and incentives into the research process. As a professor of Education and Community, Gabrielle Ivinson assumes that experiences made at places are passed on from generation to generation and remain anchored in the region. Artistic forms of expression enable the examination of these experiences and places and provide access for research. You can watch her keynote here.
Dr. Kenneth Anders, a cultural historian and co-founder of the Office for Landscape Communication and program manager of the Oderbruch Museum Altranft, gave insights into his work as a practitioner, networker, and importer. Under the heading "Landscape Communication as Joint Knowledge Production and Space Design", he spoke, among other things, about success factors for cultural work in rural areas. For him, the fundamental aspects are the establishment of a long-term relationship of trust with the people on site and the possibility of active participation. You can watch his contribution here.
Time for reflection and an outlook
On Friday, the participants answered various questions in small groups about their personal perception and the future of cultural arts education in rural areas. They addressed, among other things, the question of what cultural arts education in rural areas needs. In this context, commitment, financial resources, and continuity were emphasized as factors that are not exclusively important in rural areas, but also important conditions for cultural arts education beyond them. It is different with the already mentioned factor of mobility. Many places of cultural arts education can only be reached by car; this is a major hurdle, especially for children and adolescents. A good internet connection could improve the connection to digital offerings, but is often not available, especially in rural areas.
Another question was how the researchers envision the future of research on cultural arts education in rural/structurally weak areas. For the future, a more open design option during research was desired, so that it can be flexibly adapted to emerging circumstances. Sustainable processes that extend beyond the research project are also important for the relationship of trust and the willingness to cooperate of the people on site. More bottom-up processes and the connection to already existing structures as well as the networking of these were formulated as wishes for future research projects. In addition, there is a need for monitoring of cultural arts education offers and user behavior.
Input from education practice
The last item on the agenda was an exciting expert discussion, which illuminated the perspectives of education practice. Moderated by Dr. Luise Fischer, Karoline Weber from the Drosos Foundation and Annika Brandt from the Federal Agency for Civic Education gave exciting insights into practical educational work. For example, Annika Brandt emphasized that cultural arts education can also be a way to political education and can serve as an important means of communication. Both experts also reflected on the importance of science for practice. It enables evidence-based and targeted work. You can watch the expert discussion here.
Finally, the participants were sent off for the weekend with a lot of input for the project finalization phase. Next year there will be a transfer conference in Leipzig, which focuses on the dialogue between science and practice. The aim will be to present the research results of the funding guidelines and also to enable exchange with interested practitioners, scientists, and the public in various creative formats.
