PAST PROGRAMS

david Gersten

The Wonders of Learning: The Hundred Languages

Public Event / Lecture

04.17.2015

Brotherhood Synagogue & Beginnings 14th Street NYC

The question of ‘where do we know what we know?’ speaks to the relationship between ‘embodied experience’ and ‘embodied knowledge’. The experiences of making, of direct engagement with the material world, are an essential component in the development of fully embodied knowledge. This opens up the possibility of education as a communicative exchange between individuals, materials and their social environment.

Education, by definition is a transformative pursuit; Individuals come together and engage in transformative interactions and experiences. As with many forms of structural invention, the consequences of thoughtful invention within the structures of education are ultimately unique spaces and experiences. In this talk, Professor Gersten will address the questions of material imagination from a number of perspectives, specifically looking at the interdependence of education and direct engagement with the material world.

Description (Hinges Mirrors & Eclipses)

The term “the Hundred Languages” grew out of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and refers to each individual’s ability to think and communicate through multiple creative languages, such as the visual, dramatic, musical, as well as written word. This professional development conference will focus on the expansive potential that ordinary materials hold as vehicles of expression for people of all ages. One keynote address will offer inspirations for the use of materials to build relationships between the values and ideas of the community and imagination. A second keynote will discuss “where we know what we know” within the context of “embodied experience” and “embodied knowledge.” Open to everyone interested in new developments in education - educators, policy-makers, parents, artists, musicians and others – this conference will also offer participants the opportunity to think, act and reflect on a variety of materials during the breakout sessions, which will be led by established arts educators and studio teachers from NYC and beyond.

The Materials Day (Saturday, April 18th) is a free-of-charge outdoor event open to the public. Visitors of all ages are invited to interact with found materials through activities led by local artists and teachers. Musicians who work with found objects will be doing small performances throughout the day as well as helping visitors engage with sound-making materials. Visitors will also be able to experiment with a variety of materials in design- and construction-based activities. Come help create a collaborative plastic bottle cap mandala, crawl through a cardboard city, add to an arrangement of colorful objects, contribute to a weaving, make a ‘found object’ costume, hang objects in an installation, and more!