Should ecological thinking localise education for the visual arts?

Tridgell, Jeremy (2009) Should ecological thinking localise education for the visual arts? In: Association of Independent Art Schools, University College Falmouth.

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Abstract / Summary

This paper offers analyses of the theoretical and logistical outcomes of greater emphasis on localisation in the higher education visual arts infrastructure. Design, even in the networked information economy of a sustainable ecology, remains dependent on personal networking and social capital which have rendered ‘success’ a national, rather than transnational, paradigm. This industrial model carries an associated networking cost – the physical movement of individuals. Much current thought on value and market worth remains ideologically subscribed to the industrial network economy and suffers similar network-based costs.

For smaller institutions, often geographically isolated, this ‘industrial hangover’ disrupts engagement with design practices within national economies where creative industries are focused on the larger conurbations. A distributed design intelligence in the networked information economy encourages activity’s localisation. Commitment to distributed design makes institutional change the principal dynamic for HE’s sustainability. Visual arts and ecological thought must have a symbiotic relationship to prosper. Recent government calls for HE to reduce its carbon footprint 50% by 2020 represent an increased awareness that cultural and infrastructural innovation must emerge from the universities not as 'subject' or tacit knowledge but as a transformative arts engagement at the core of educational practice - questioning the way we live!

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