AuthorPatrick is just setting out on the journey of becoming a teacher. Archives
November 2017
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Above us the rain clouds were gathering, the sky bruising with splashes of dark grey as the clouds grew heavier. Raincoats and umbrellas were the accessories of the day. Not to be deterred, around ninety student teachers headed out in different directions to be guided through the varying opportunities for place-based learning in Nanaimo’s downtown core. My small group had gathered before a recent installation on the Nanaimo sea wall. Our guide was City of Nanaimo’s Culture and Heritage Coordinator Chris Barfoot, a gentleman with an in-depth perspective on the vagaries of municipal art appreciation. As we ventured across the town under his tutelage, we began to examine different pieces from permanent installations to more temporary ones whose purpose was to push experimental pieces. Ideas began to form and congeal in my mind as to the utility of public art in relation to place-based learning. In essence, whatever the art piece, it is intricately linked to its environment. The traditional home of art, the gallery, is still place-based but lacks the connectivity and linkages that art exhibited in the open enjoys. Questions learners could begin to examine might be: how does the form of the piece relate to the ground or place it is situated in; what are the artist’s intentions and how does the surrounding landscape’s colour compliment it; does the art piece relate to the specific history of the locale? While exploring this theme, the endless possibilities and avenues of learning came rushing out. An excellent example of this type of connectivity between place and art came when we visited the Port Theatre to admire Phil Ashbee’s “Salmon Coming Home” mural. An expansive piece that soars above the foyer of the theatre, it manages to provide a linkage from this modern building to the aboriginal lifeways that existed here long before. For students, it would an excellent place-based learning opportunity to explore the history of the very land underfoot while also debating how it relates to the structure that houses it. Following on from the art walk, we joined City of Nanaimo’s Heritage Planner, Chris Sholberg, to begin a brief inquiry into the architectural history of the core area. From our short journey down the old streets and inspection of brick walls dating back hundreds of years, I was quickly convinced of the ‘magical door’ city architecture could provided for learning. You may wonder how an old, slightly crumbling facade could direct learners into and exploration of the past? Well, consider the hidden stories within each building. Not only does the form of the architecture give us clues to building date but also historical records are easily investigated and could return to students the names of the families who once lived in these residences. Questions would no doubt flow: who might have lived in here when it was a hotel? What would the socio-economic make-up have been here in the downtown area at the turn of the century? There is no doubt that place-based learning has a tangible, almost tactile element to it that could propel students to a higher, perhaps more sophisticated level of learning. But the groundwork must be laid. It would be ineffectual to simply let students wander the streets without a good grounding in the historical architecture and basic timelines for the development of Nanaimo. But if these are present, it is clear the learning will be sound. Overall, it was a wonderful and intriguing experience exploring Nanaimo’s cultural present and past.
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