KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts (IDEA) Instructor

Teaching Philosophy

Teaching designers, artists, and non-artists from extremely different regions and backgrounds has strongly shaped and keeps informing my pedagogical philosophy which is not static, but manifests and evolves as my teaching experience evolves. 

I believe in a relational teaching that is aware of its context, whether the macro-context of the city one lives in or the micro-contexts of the school or the classroom, and what they hold in terms of group diversity and located knowledges. This drives my belief in learning that encourages self-awareness, openness to negotiate one's views and contradict oneself, and a critical understanding of the intersections we engage with. I emphasize the role that research plays in artistic production and the ability to think critically about many concerns of contemporary practice including reflections on gender, history, politics, economics, feminism, (post)colonialism, identity, and much else. In teaching, I put effort into decolonizing the curriculum by diversifying the bibliography, advocating for a creation that is anchored in personal and cultural context, and an art production that is aware of its impact on the society and the environment it engages. 

I approach creativity as a process of finding and creating expansive relations between concepts, disciplines, media, and people, that grow exponentially and build off of their connections into a productive potentiality. This translates into thinking cross-disciplinarily and bringing into the classroom discussions about the intersection of design and environmental, social, or health issues, and the intersection of art and technology or the socio-political realms that each individual inhabits. I am eager to witness the emergent interests and worries brought about by the students as they navigate the complexity of the themes and materials in hand. I think of a person in a learning context as a wholistic individual, with their own intrinsic learning pathways. Intuitive teaching for me means a teaching in-response; a relational engagement with students where discoveries are made within the intervals that open up in-between the minds and bodies in the room. It is through a sensitivity towards one’s own sensory and mental experience and the others’ that we co-create the learning material.

Similarly, an education environment is co-created by both teacher and students and I see devising as a metaphor for knowledge transfer. Devising is a collaborative approach in theater that does not involve a hierarchy nor follow a linear pursuit of a preconceived end goal, but relies on identifying the most fruitful paths that leverage the individual strengths of each collaborator. The classroom becomes a stage or even a lab, where ideas are put to test. Applied in projects, devising teaches a great deal about how to co-create as a micro-community and is insightful to students as future contributors in collaborations and art collectives. When experimenting with material processes and developing technical skills, learning from failure and staying with the trouble, are my core tenets.

An ideal space for creation, I feel, is one with a lot of room for self-led learning, experimentation, and inquiry and the ability for students to be diligent self-critics. Over the years, I have experimented with many critique styles, some very structured and others very adaptable. A critique approach that I highly value is individual-led and involves each student designing their critique session and setting the expectations for the feedback given to them. Critiques that combine phenomenological and epistemological feedback are very fruitful in how they interpolate intentions towards form, affect, and concept. My teaching practice employs embodied ways of learning with an awareness of the role of the body and the senses in communication, and a non-hierarchical approach when dealing with the sensory and the intellectual. I employ reflexive modes such as research, writing, and critique, as well as exercises building on a sensuous or affective discovery that draw from my experience in clowning, improv comedy, voice training, functional and somatic movement, and yoga.

Finally, I wish that respect for people from all genders, ethnicities, ages, and orientations is a given in the classroom. I hope to share a space where students from multiple backgrounds can thrive because they feel heard and respected, are inspired and stimulated, and are encouraged to take risks, learn, and innovate.

References

ALLYSON CLAY
Professor Emerita, one of my previous teachers at SFU
Phone: +1604 8022406
Email: allysonclay@gmail.com

DINA FAOUR
Professor of Advertising (Creative) and Outreach Coordinator – Visual Communication
Previously Head of Advertising at the American University of Dubai
Phone: +971 4 3183240
Email : dfaour@aud. edu

DR. LUDMILLA ARMATA
Painter, Art Professor, and previous colleague
Phone: +1 819 962 6030
Email: ludmila.armata@gmail.com

DIMA SCHNEIDER
Previous Design Program Chair at Dar Al Hekma University
Phone: +961 71 850389
Email: dima_schneider@yahoo.com