Co-Creation and Creativity: Arts Education in Dialogue

The Open Window Teacher’s Conference aims to bring together educators, researchers, and practitioners in the field of creative arts education to explore innovative strategies for making our curricula and pedagogical strategies more individualised and learner-centric. The conference will provide a platform for knowledge-sharing, practical workshops, and panel discussions that address challenges and opportunities in art education.

Date: Friday 15 May
Kindly RSVP by 01 May
Venue: Open Window, Stellenbosch
Catering: Lunch

Theme Exploration in the Programme:

This year, our Co-Creation and Creativity: Arts Education in Dialogue programme will explore multiple topics, including curriculum co-creation with students, learner-centred education and approaches to well-being, collaborative techniques in creativity, and co-creating with AI.

Co-Creation and Creativity offers the platform for educators to consider: How do learners shape or inform their own learning? How does the curriculum respond to or adapt itself around learners? To what extent are we as educators continuously evolving to meet the needs of our learners? This topic is pressing as it engages with the phenomenon of ‘the individual’ and the growing demand for an individualised approach to education. It foregrounds pedagogical approaches which prioritise student autonomy and agency, their subjective experiences and perspectives, and self-directed learning. This phenomenon further entails curriculum diversity and flexibility. How can we empower ourselves as educators to navigate set curriculum parameters, whether governmental or privately determined? How can we collaborate cross-institutionally for the benefit of educators and students alike?

As educators, we acknowledge the extent to which learning and creativity are, in fact, always collaborative, whether it be between groups and individuals, or between people and technology, online platforms, and tools. Particularly relevant to co-creating with technology is the promotion of active learning alongside AI rather than blindly depending on it. Our conference thus encourages critical conversation around the ethical use of AI tools.

Join us in the spirit of collaboration as we foster dialogue among educators, institutions, and industry professionals to enhance curriculum development and showcase best practices in arts education.