Abstract
Contemporary social policy and practices pertaining to children have seen a trend towards increasing surveillance under the premise of child protection. Growing from the awareness of this social trend and the limitations imposed on children’s demonstration of active citizenship in public spaces, the arts project Walking Neighbourhood: Hosted by children was developed by artists from the community cultural development organisation Contact Inc. The project operated in the urban public space of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley (a place known for being child-unfriendly) in order to problematise and expose issues pertaining to child safety and active citizenship by engaging with children as collaborators and facilitators in the production of live art. Amongst the outcomes of the Walking Neighbourhood were child-provoked urban geographies and demonstrations of active citizenship mediated by walking as an arts experience. Drawing from the findings of a research project that accompanied the Walking Neighbourhood this paper will explore the nature of the child-led tours as public pedagogy, and the dynamics of inter-generational interaction between adults and children as sites of civic learning.
