Imagineering: Re-Creating Spaces through Collaborative Art-Making

Abstract

This paper considers the significance of the types of learning relationships developed between children and adults during a creative arts and engineering project: The Imagineerium. It focuses on data collected through observations, 18 interviews conducted during and six weeks after the pupils had been involved in the project, and 25 interviews conducted one year later. This is supported by reference to a wider data set gathered from questionnaires, field notes and journal analysis conducted with 72 pupils. A significant and recurring feature emerging from this data was pupils’ perception of the positive relationships they experienced within The Imagineerium project. The article considers the elements of the project that contribute to this relational experience. In particular, it argues the importance of this educational experience being located within a tradition of community arts, within the practice of art-making and involving adult facilitators committed to these practices.