Teachers' Workshop:
Utopia, Ecology and Identity

Autograph's current exhibition The Island by Angolan-Portuguese artist Mónica de Miranda contemplates experiences of Afrodiasporic lives, relationships to the land and colonial pasts. 

We warmly invite teachers and educators at all levels to join us for a workshop centred around the exhibition, exploring how to support pupils to engage with the exhibition's themes of utopia, ecology and identity. You will come away with activities and strategies to support your class or group on a gallery visit or in the classroom. 

The evening will begin with a preview of The Island, followed by a discussion about strategies to lead a class in open conversation to develop visual thinking skills through dialogue. You'll have the opportunity to take part in practical, hands-on art activities that can be used with a class visit or in a school setting. We'll end with drinks and an opportunity network with fellow peers.

Key questions
Sharing strategies to investigate with classes - how we can create meaningful images
Sharing strategies to investigate with classes - what is a utopia? What would be a perfect world?
Sharing strategies to investigate with classes - what are the key changes around climate and culture we are interested in exploring?
Sharing strategies to develop strategies around - how do we turn these discussions into creative narratives that speak on facts along with our feelings, dreams and visions for change?

Learning Outcomes
Become confident in facilitation open-ended conversations that are not aimed at imparting hierarchical knowledge from a teacher to the students, geared around sharing visual observations and analysis skills, valuing everyone’s contribution.
Become confident in talking about climate issues and identity and speculating on ideal future cultures and ways of living more ecologically
Work together to shape up a collective story through discussion, mind mapping and storytelling
Use visual and text-based materials to tell the story, including collaging, drawing, writing etc

Have a question about the activities? Email learning@autograph-abp.co.uk in advance with ‘Teachers’ Workshop’ in the subject line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.