Artist-teacher-researcher-student: exploring the enterprises of the artist-teacher in adult community learning

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the enterprises artist-teachers in adult community learning (ACL) engage with and how these form their identity. This is significant to consider as artist-teachers in ACL are overlooked in the published literature. ACL is comprised of community-based learning delivered by local authorities and general further education colleges. Thornton defines the artist-teacher as an individual dedicated to both art and teaching. This is visualised in his Artist Teacher Model. However, Thornton ignores other enterprises that an artist-teacher could be involved in. This paper then considers Daichendt’s use of Wallace and Gruber’s networks of enterprises. Using the earliest recorded artist-educator, George Wallis, as a case study, Daichendt highlights how one is often engaged in several enterprises and uses the network of enterprises to visualise this. Participant interviews and focus groups test if this is more appropriate for the artist-teacher in ACL than Thornton’s model. The impact of this research on practice is an improved understanding of the multifaceted identities of artist-teachers. The paper helps to produce new knowledge around the identity and introduces newly developed visual tools for tracking this, including the Tetrad Identity Model, and the ATLS. These tools may also be used for other professionals with multifaceted identities.

KEYWORDS:

• Artist-teacher
• adult community learning
• identity
• dual identity
• identity model

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge my supervision team at Norwich University of the Arts for their support and guidance and my participants, who have given so much of themselves to this project, without which this research would not be possible.

Declaration

As an active artist-teacher working in ACL I have a vested interest in the research into this role.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).