Curious Hands: Space + Sound in Learning Making.

An International Conference at Minerva Art Academy. Organized by the Curious Hands Research Project (Department of Art History, University of Groningen and Research Center Art & Society, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen), Mar 21-22, 2024.

The global pandemic and its aftermath have made it once again clear that ‘making with our hands’ is beneficial in numerous ways; it contributes to our physical and mental health, stimulates our creativity and intellect, creates social interaction and cohesion, fosters ecological awareness and sustainable thinking. Yet practical aspects of making, especially in educational settings, remain underexplored and the question how making is learned and taught is in need of further investigation in order to help making move to the core of education. Building on a theoretical framework that combines ‘educational communities of practice’ with the notion that ‘making is thinking’ and foregrounds the affordances of materials, objects, tools, people, and processes, the conference concentrates on space + sound.

space:
How do actual physical spaces and their architectures and lay-outs, i.e., the learning environment where materials, tools and makers interact, afford / hinder / improve processes of learning making? How does the arrangement of the immediate workspace, and the machines, tools, materials within afford / hinder / improve / structure the processes of learning making?

sound:
How do sounds that accompany or are being produced in the process of making relate to the learning making process? Which language (technical terminology, metaphors) is used for instructions or tasks? Do sounds (spoken word, singing, humming, utterings; noises made by machines, tools and materials; music or silence) afford / hinder / improve / structure processes of learning making? How are onomatopoeia and other material or haptic languages used to translate specific sounds that materials and machines make into languages of instruction?

These aspects are explored for educational contexts in which making is learned and taught, including workshops at art academies and vocational schools, maker spaces in high schools and universities, as well as conservation and restoration workshops.

Conception and organization: research group (www.curioushands.nl)curious hands. moving making to the core of education Imka Buurke, Vanessa Bakhuizen-van ‘t Hoogt, Ann-Sophie-Lehmann, Evert Bisschop-Boele (Minerva Art Academy Groningen/ University of Groningen)

To participate please register on the website:
https://curioushands.nl/conference/

Programme Day 1
Thursday, March 21 - SPACE

9.30-10.00
Entrance

10.00-1030
Ann-Sophie Lehmann (Groningen) Welcome & Introduction

10.30-11.00
Imka Buurke (Groningen) Teaching Materials for Curious Hands

11.00-11.30
Jakob Schillinger (Berlin) Beyond and Between: The Spaces of Art-Making

13.30-14.00
Grace Kim-Butler (Utrecht) Making Space for Shared Curiosity. Many Hands in Utrecht University’s ArtLab

14.00-14.30
Marieke Hendriksen & Vera Eising (Amsterdam) Making and Tasting Warmoes: Reflections on the Spatiotemporal Aspects of Historical Recipes

15.15-16.45
Workshops 1-4
Marieke Hendriksen, Vera Eising & Vanessa Bakhuizen-van ‘t Hoogt How to Make Warmoes

Ren Ewart: Make Do. Textile Repair and Processes of Maintenance

Joris Witvliet: Creating with Metal. A Very Brief Introduction

Kristel Hunnersen & Veronica Peselmann: Touching Paper – Handling Books

16.45-17.45
Drinks & Opening Exhibition "Knowing Me, Knowing You"

Programme Day 2
Friday, March 22 - SOUND

9.15-9.30
Evert Bisschop Boele (Groningen) Introduction

9.30-10.00
Camilla Groth (University of South-Eastern Norway) Embodied Making and Learning: With a Focus on Sensory Experiences

10.00-10.30
Anna Harris (Maastricht) Listen-Touch: Sensing and Materials in Medical Learning

11.00-12.00
Exhibition Tour: "Knowing Me, Knowing You"

13.15-13.45
Vanessa Bakhuizen-van ‘t Hoogt (Groningen): Materiality of Sound in the Process of Teaching and Learning Making

13.45-14.30
Chris Tonelli (Groningen): Response

14.45-16.15
Workshops 5-9
Camilla Groth: Sensory Experiences in Learning Activities

Laura Hovenkamp, Simone Sorber & Talitha Huges: Shaping Maker Spaces for Children

Michiel Teeuw: Curious Sans

Marcel van Kan: Screaming Tin

16.30-18.00
Final Discussion & Plenary Reflections
Artists’ Reflections on Spaces and Sounds of Making with Jackie Galama