This design-based research project explored how an online art appreciation course can contribute to intercultural exchange processes between student art teachers from two countries: Israel and the Netherlands. The study is based on a collaboration between two Bachelor’s degree programmes in Fine Art in Education, at the Faculty of Arts - Hamidrasha at Beit Berl College in Tel Aviv and the Breitner Academy of the Amsterdam University of the Arts. Based on five design principles, an online art appreciation course was designed in which students could develop vocabulary and knowledge about each other through group and peer learning, by interpreting art in art appreciation assignments, and through collaborative practical art assignments. The course was then implemented and evaluated with all sixteen participating students: eight from each country. The students’ experiences and perceived learning outcomes were evaluated by means of group interviews and learner reports. Taking the analysed data into consideration, the pedagogical design principles showed that a rich learning environment, where students work in pairs to create artworks, stimulated the mutual cultural exchange processes. Considering the content matter, the data showed that a semiotic reading of global artworks that trigger discomforting emotions, namely a pedagogy of discomfort, is key when aiming to achieve cultural awareness among participating students.

Goedman, C., Habekotté, M. (2022) Between spaces: Art appreciation lessons as a platform for intercultural exchange. Amsterdam NL: Lectoraat Kunsteducatie, Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.