"Learning About Where We Are": Place-Based Education and Place-Making in an Urban Community Arts Setting

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Pedagogical Encounters With Place, Memory, and Affect

Abstract

Many urban community-based youth organizations engage with local peoples and places through the arts. Yet few empirical studies have focused on place-based education (PBE) in these contexts, and little is known about the perspectives and experiences of the adults and youth involved. Conducted in partnership with a Boston community art studio, this research used participant observation and interviews with staff, teaching artists, and students (n=29) to explore the processes, possibilities, and challenges of PBE and place-making in a summer youth program. Findings revealed core processes of venturing out, journeying in, and creating together, and key tensions around authenticity, purpose, and belonging. This paper highlights the importance of youth voice and peer relationships in place-based programs, and discusses implications for educators.

Author

• Jessica Tseming Fei, Harvard University