Tim Proetel gave a lecture at the AFrAA Conference in Kampala, speaking about "Potentials of Transcultural Art Education"
Tim’s lecture provided spotlights on transcultural issues in art education in German secondary schools, connected to the project „Exploring Visual Cultures“ (EVC) and illustrating the interplay between European and African ‘visual cultures’ from both a practical and theoretical perspective:
- The amazing potential of intercultural topics in education has great implications on the creative abilities of students in designing and perceiving art, architecture, fashion and design.
- The confrontation with colonial heritage and guilt and the presence/absence of certain cultural objects in the respective canon(s) trigger a change of perspective. This requires specific teaching-methods as research and cooperation with partners.
- Case-study: The use of Ghanaian Adinkra-symbols (introduced by our partner in Winneba, Ghana) and their transfer into new symbolic expressions by German students is proposed as a model for intercultural learning.
The EVC project focuses on the conscious selection of objects (e.g. works of art, architecture, handicraft, fashion) in different regions of the world and their use in education. The platform „exploring-visual cultures“ is designed as a global, interdisciplinary virtual museum. It may be used as a resource for teachers and learners to enhance transcultural competencies. The central ideas are:
- Specific repertoires of imagined ideas or imageries form the basis of our notions about the world. They are anchored in the collective pictorial memory and are part of a shared cultural archive.
- In a globalized world we can find, on the one hand, a common visual sphere and shared world-views and, on the other hand, distinct understandings and uses of similar images.
- Educational systems have a special responsibility in this context, as they offer a space for awareness and reflection on these world-views.
- Partners from different countries and various cultural backgrounds work together on a database to present objects with intercultural value.
Tim Proetel is a member of the German ‘Exploring Visual Cultures’-team, led by Prof. Dr. Ernst Wagner. He teaches art at the Richard-Wagner-Gymnasium in Bayreuth, Germany, being member of the school-management. He also works in curriculum-development. Tim has authored several books about drawing. Contact:
