Teaching to Transgress Toolbox

Abstract

As three major art schools engaged in higher education, we identified an urgent need to respond to the increasing polarisation and discrimination present in wider society, particularly within the educational field. therefore this project aims to address several key areas of concern: the need to decolonize our curricula and pedagogical models, shifting from Eurocentric frameworks toward pluriversal perspectives; the development of critical practices and pedagogies that understand the role of emotions in the classroom; the creation of diverse, polyvocal learning spaces that are capable of holding disagreement and dissent without resorting to cancellation or exclusion; a collective, critical examination of institutional structures and protocols that continue to perpetuate exclusion and discrimination within our art schools.

In response, we launched the Teaching to Transgress Toolbox, a 30-month EU-funded research and study programme aimed at fostering inclusive pedagogies within higher arts education. The project focused on the development of dedicated pedagogical tools for use by artists, researchers, students, and educators. Grounded in critical pedagogy and enriched by artistic tools, the programme is based on peer learning and experimental research methodologies.

A key focus of the project was to explore how intersectionality could be meaningfully integrated into both arts education and artistic practice. Intersectionality recognises that systems of oppression—such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism—are deeply interconnected and cannot be addressed in isolation. Critical intersectional feminist pedagogies, in particular, offer powerful conceptual and practical tools for cultivating inclusive learning environments.

This approach is especially relevant in the field of art, where there is a longstanding openness to experimenting with new critical frameworks, creative methods, and modes of analysis. By combining critical pedagogy with intersectional feminist approaches and artistic experimentation, the Teaching to Transgress Toolbox offers an innovative model for transformative teaching in the arts.