MakerStudioPeda Summer School, 23–29 May, 2023
From May 23 to 29, different locations in Helsinki, Espoo and Björkboda served as the backdrop for the MakerStudioPeda Summer School 2023, a week full of productive activities.
The summer school saw the long-awaited opportunity for the whole research team to have their first in-person, completely offline group meeting. Advisory Board members Keith Sawyer and Nithikul Nimkulrat traveled to Finland all the way from North America, and research collaborators Camilla Groth and Flemming Tvede Hansen came from neighboring Nordic countries to join principal investigators Maarit Mäkelä and Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen as well as project researchers Priska Falin, Anniliina Omwami and Luis Vega. The event also counted with the presence of Professor Kai Hakkarainen from the University of Helsinki and Adjunct Professor Maarit Salolainen from Aalto.
Kick-off
On Tuesday, May 23, the team gathered in Helsinki to embark on a collective journey to Saunasaari, an island where the activities commenced in the Finnish style of a sauna evening.
The research team arriving to the Saunasaari island.
Part of the team sharing an inaugural toast.
Open Seminar
The activities continued on Wednesday with an open seminar that included the first public presentation of the MakerStudioPeda project and two keynote speeches by the Advisory Board, followed by a tour of the studio spaces at Aalto ARTS where most of the empirical data originating from this project have been collected.
Speakers and attendees discussed studio pedagogy and its contemporary place in Art and Design Education.
Photos: Amedeo Martines.
The MakerStudioPeda Open Seminar offered scholars, practitioners, teachers, and students a space to reflect on current pedagogical practices and the role of experiential knowledge in studio-based teaching and learning.
This public program started with a warm welcome speech by Dr. Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen from the University of Helsinki and Dr. Maarit Mäkelä from Aalto University, who provided an overview of the MakerStudioPeda project, highlighting its goals and achievements thus far.
The audience then had the privilege of listening to a keynote speech by Dr. Keith Sawyer from the University of North Carolina, who delved into the studio model and how instructors teach in U.S. art and design universities. His talk shed light on teaching methods that foster creativity and hands-on learning, which will be published in his forthcoming book.
Finally, Dr. Nithikul Nimkulrat from OCAD University shared her insights into the question of what makers know, opening up issues of the knowledge and skills cultivated through maker practices and their implications for education.
All presentations were followed by discussion sessions that allowed the audience to inquire further into the intricacies of studio pedagogy and its multifaceted nature. The full program can be consulted in this link.
Studio Visits at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture
After the seminar, the Advisory Board and the research collaborators had the opportunity to explore Aalto ARTS’s state-of-the-art facilities and witness the remarkable work unfolding in its studio spaces. The visits inspired the team and facilitated the exchange of ideas, setting up the stage for the following activities.
Lecturer Nathalie Lautenbacher giving a tour of the Ceramics Studio at Aalto University.
Adjunct Professor Maarit Salolainen explaining her pedagogical approach to studio practice. Photo: Kai Hakkarainen.
Research Workshop
The group reconvened on Thursday for a whole-day research workshop, where they discussed the future steps of the project and the direction of the upcoming research outputs. Among other activities, the workshop consisted of presentations by Camilla Groth (University of Southern Norway) and Flemming Tvede Hansen (The Royal Danish Academy) on their university’s take on studio teaching, as well as a series of hands-on activities catered to focus on expected types of contributions and publication venues. The activities were finalized with a sauna evening and shared dinner at Aalto University’s very own Rantasauna.
Project Collaborator Flemming Tvede Hansen sharing The Royal Danish Academy’s approach to studio pedagogy. Photo: Priska Falin.
Professor Maarit Mäkelä leading a group discussion during the workshop. Photo: Luis Vega.
Weekend Getaway
The Summer School ended with a weekend getaway to Björkboda, a small village located in the western archipelago area of Finland, where the core team ran the previous year’s summer school. This place offered a chance to unwind in the Finnish nature, as well as to enjoy shared meals, morning swims, sauna evenings, forest walks, mushroom picking, and a visit to Kulturhus Björkboda, the local culture house.
Björkboda made a great location for morning swims.
Local fish were cooked for dinner.
Advisory Board member Keith Sawywer with Principal Investigators Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen and Maarit Mäkelä after a mushroom-picking walk. Photo: Kai Hakkarainen.
Next steps for the project
The team will continue to systemically analyze the project data, co-author publications, and conduct expert interviews in the partner institutions to obtain a macro-level perspective of design studio pedagogy in the Nordic countries.
The latest updates on the project can be found here.