Bragi Hilmarsson
Bragi Hilmarsson graduates with a master's degree and teaching license from the Faculty of Art Education in the spring of 2025.
Contemporary art in Icelandic elementary schools
Here we discuss the role of contemporary art in the visual education of elementary school students with an emphasis on how to promote students' understanding and interest in art forms that are rarely covered in elementary schools, such as performance art, video art and installations.
At the beginning, a theoretical context is presented where the concept of contemporary art is defined, its characteristics are discussed and compared with traditional artistic creation. Different ideas about valid art in school work are discussed, in addition to the development of public policy in art education in Iceland, with reference to the publication of the main curriculum from 1999, 2013 and 2014. Emphasis is placed on different pedagogical approaches to contemporary art teaching, among other things based on ideas about transformative learning, self-determination theory and art as research.
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- Bragi Hilmarsson - Between the screenshots (Screenshots) - Video with sound - 8 minutes and 30 seconds
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- Bragi Hilmarsson - Sometimes it's like that (screenshot)- Performance on video
The research of this thesis is based on a qualitative interview study in which six semi-open interviews were conducted with art teachers in the capital area. The aim of the interviews was to examine the teachers' attitudes towards the teaching of contemporary art, analyze the main challenges and opportunities they see in teaching and evaluate how their experience and insight can be used to promote such teaching in Icelandic primary schools.
Bragi Hilmarsson and Auðunn Kvaran - Hydration is Key - Installation in Evacuated 2018.jpg
The main findings of the study show that despite the positive attitudes of art teachers towards contemporary art, there are various obstacles, in particular the lack of time, knowledge and support from school authorities It is also stated that teachers consider it important to better engage art museums and artists in teaching in order to promote students' interest and improve their cultural awareness.
The results thus indicate that if the teaching of contemporary art is to be strengthened, special attention must be paid to the increased education of teachers about contemporary art, continuing education and more targeted cooperation with art museums and artists.
Instructors: Ingimar Ólafsson Waage and Rakel McMahon
30 ECTS MA Art Education
2025
