THE WORK OF ART + DOCUMENTATION AS MATERIAL + ART AS EVENT
Abstract
With children aged 2–5, we explored concepts around the ephemeral, temporal, and intangible aspects of artistic encounters and what these things do to us during an inquiry project. We entered into this with curiosity about the ways in which the unplanned and unknown aspects of an artistic encounter might push inquiry forward in unexpected ways that always require some sort of response. Situated the research within a posthumanist perspective, we explored some of the ways art as an event makes possible the ways that art and curriculum can and should be considered co-constructors of inquiry and sense making. A significant part of the project worked to disrupt conventions around documentation or pedagogical narration and to push the researcher (as well as the children and educators) to think of how we might incorporate documentation as a living, moving, active part of the process during artistic encounters and/or inquiry.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Cornwall, J., & Park, H. (2022). Leaking and containing: Researching with children and the sketchbook. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(8–9), 888–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004221075247
Harris, D., & Holman Jones, S. (2022). A manifesto for posthuman creativity studies. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(5), 522–530. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004211066632
Ingold, T. (2011). Being alive : Essays on movement, knowledge and description. Taylor & Francis.
Ingold, T. (2013). Making: Anthropology, archeology, art, and architecture. Routledge.
Kind, S. (2023). Movements, synchronicities, choreographies: Attuning to young children’s drawing. In M. Sakr & J. Osgood (Eds.), Postdevelopmental approaches to childhood observation (ch. 3). Bloomsbury.
Kontturi, K-K. (2018). Ways of following: Art, materiality, collaboration. Open Humanities Press.
Leggo, C. (1944). Living poetry: Five ruminations. Language and Literacy, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.20360/G2D307
Manning, E. (2015). Artfulness. In R. Grusin (Ed.), The nonhuman turn. University of Minnesota Press.
Manning, E. (2016). The minor gesture. Duke University Press.
Murris, K., & Zhao, W. (2022). Re-turning. In K. Muris (Ed.), A glossary for doing postqualitative, new materialist, and critical posthumanist research across disciplines (pp. 112–113). Routledge.
Copyright (c) 2025 Emily Meers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to the Journal of Childhood Studies agree to release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International license. This licence allows anyone to share their work (copy, distribute, transmit) and to adapt it for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given, and that in the event of reuse or distribution, the terms of this license are made clear.
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
