Mandate
The Artful Inquiry Research Group (AIRG) was founded in 2014 at McGill University with the aim of creating an exchange platform for faculty and graduate students who engage in arts-based research practices at the Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE). AIRG has expanded to help connect the community of arts-based researchers on local, national, and international levels by specifically focusing on the impact of making art and engaging in relational art practices. By formalizing the many arts interests across the Faculty of Education, we have created, and anticipate to create more, collaborations and cross-fertilization of knowledge to benefit the Faculty of Education, the community and arts-based research both in Canada and internationally. Additionally, AIRG has planted the seed for a community of practice around artful inquiry that has helped establish a dynamic interdisciplinary group of scholars who work through collaboration beyond McGill University.
The Artful Inquiry Research Group (AIRG) is excited to invite submissions for our 5th Bi-Annual Symposium on the broad theme of Sustainabilities in Arts and Education. Building on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainability Goals, we focus specifically on Goal #15: Life on Land and Goal #16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions to think critically about the intersections between education, the arts, and sustainability.
Our symposium invites participants to explore what it means to foster well-being, (re)growth, and constructive and fruitful relationships with the human and more-than-human world. We encourage submissions that consider how the arts can transform, sustain and reimagine multiple environments—ecological, institutional, cultural, social and others—while also keeping an eye towards how overlooked past traditions can inform present sustainable practices which will have enduring future repercussions.
Symposium Themes
We welcome proposals that explore the following themes, integrating broad interpretations of sustainability and focusing on the potential of the arts to transform and sustain diverse environments:
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Natural, Social and Cultural Environments: How can arts-based (educational) practices engage with and transform multiple types of environments—natural ecosystems, urban spaces, cultural institutions, unsustainable systems? How can the arts dismantle and disrupt environmental and social harms, while fostering sustainable growth, justice and equity? What does it mean to sustain ecological, social or artistic environments in times of rapid change? How do we work to sustain best practices in arts-based education?
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Land-Based Pedagogies: How can arts-based (educational) practices cultivate felt connections to land, promote ecological health, and support land stewardship? How can the arts obstruct and disrupt environmental degradation while sustaining land-based pedagogies informed by Indigenous ways of knowing? How can the arts propagate intergenerational knowing, inspire future-oriented sustainability, and imagine new futures for both human and more-than-human worlds?
Presentation Formats
We welcome proposals in the following formats:
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Workshops (60 minutes): Hands-on, interactive sessions that engage participants in exploring sustainable arts-based practices and education.
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Papers (15 minutes): Scholarly presentations exploring the theoretical and practical connections between sustainability, arts, and education.
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Panels (60 minutes): Curated discussions that bring together diverse perspectives on sustainability, the arts, and education, with an emphasis on transformation and the future.
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Performances or Exhibitions: Artistic performances, installations, or multimedia projects that reflect the symposium’s themes of sustainability, transformation, and futurity.
*Note: There are a limited number of workshops and panels available
*Note: There is a limit of one panel and workshop proposal submission per person
Submission Guidelines
Please submit a 250-300 word abstract outlining your proposal, including its relevance to the symposium theme(s), the format of your presentation, and any special requirements (e.g., AV, space). Please submit the proposal [HERE] via Microsoft Forms.
*Please note that presenters are responsible for their own materials for their presentation
Please contact airg [at] mcgill.ca for any questions. We look forward to your creative and insightful contributions!
Book Launch
Art as an Agent for Social Change (2021)
Editors: Hala Mreiwed, Mindy R. Carter, Claudia Mitchell
Special Thanks: Ann Smith for her thoughtful and generous editing, Maisa Mreiwed for use of her artwork Journey of Knowledge, Vol. 7 (2019) on the cover of the book and Darshan Daryanani for creating the sneak peak inside the book (to watch click on the book).
Making Connections in and Through Arts-Based Educational Research, outcome from 2020 AIRG Symposium (published by Springer 2023)
Editors: Hala Mreiwed, Mindy R. Carter, Sara Hashem, Candace H. Blake-Amarante
