Art & Wonder: Young Children and Contemporary Art 

What potential might there be for creative reciprocity between artists and young children? The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) announces the launch of the Art & Wonder: Young Children and Contemporary Art publication available online at the MCA Store.

Can we create space for intellectually rich, thoughtful, deep and complex early childhood visual arts pedagogy for the very youngest children in Early Childhood Education and Care settings and museum and gallery contexts? In what ways can a sense of belonging be created for infants and toddlers (and their families) in large, public cultural institutions? How do young children bring meaning to and make meaning from contemporary art within a museum context? 

These questions and more form the foundations for the publication which shares findings from the pilot phase (September 2017–March 2018) of the ongoing Art & Wonder research project. 

This publication is based on the initial findings of a collaborative study between the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) and Macquarie University, working with children, families and teachers from Mia Mia Child and Family Study Centre, and Blacktown City Council. 

Key findings of particular interest in the pilot research project are centred around five themes: 

–Belonging: active welcoming and permissions, creating the comfort zone, visibility and movement 
–Cultural citizenship: young children’s visibility in a public cultural institution, their participation rights as cultural citizens 
–Embodied aesthetic encounters: complex aesthetic experience and response, the connections between creativity and play 
–Reciprocity and relationships: establishing reciprocal relationships with artists and educators; materials and artworks, intergenerational experience within families 
–Reframing creative learning: the ways physical and metaphorical open spaces can be created in a contemporary art museum, within which very young children’s embodied responding to complex aesthetic experiences can take flight in generative, rich and unexpected ways 

The research principles focus on respecting and listening to the child: foregrounding children’s participation rights—alongside their rights to beauty, wonder and complex aesthetic experiences, and how this is developed in non-traditional places of learning. 

MCA Director, Audience Engagement Gill Nicol celebrates the launch of the publication, saying “The vision for this project is to look at the impact of deep engagement with contemporary art; and to support young children in reaching their full potential in becoming confident and empowered adults. We are delighted to continue our ongoing research-in-action with colleagues from the Early Childhood sector which continues to show us the benefits of such a collaboration. The MCA thanks Suzanne and Anthony Maple-Brown, Patrons of Art & Wonder: Young Children and Contemporary Art, and The Medich Foundation, Major Benefactor of MCA Early Learning programs for their support.” 

Macquarie University School of Education Dean, Professor Mary Ryan says the initial findings of this collaborative study are incredibly important for how we all should approach early childhood education. 

“In the first three years of life children develop more connections within their brain then they’ll ever have at any other time in their life, so allowing them to explore contemporary art in various forms is a fantastic way to encourage their development. Macquarie University is thrilled to be part of this research project, which advocates for the inclusion of the youngest members of our community in rich, learning environments such as the MCA.” 

Buy the publication here.