Pop-Up Art Schools and the ‘Carnivalesque’

This chapter outlines a programme of ‘pop-up art schools’, community-based activities which aim to encourage members of the public to engage with art and express their creativity in a relaxed and informal manner. The pop-up schools are described in the context of Bakhtin’s ‘Carnivalesque’, a concept based on medieval carnivals where unpredicatability, chaos, and the resultant creativity that this produced, were encouraged and celebrated. The spontaneous nature of these pop-up schools has close parallels with the Carnivalesque, where participants are encouraged to step outside of their normal, everyday selves, and express themselves in new ways. The informal learning that takes place as part of this activity is discussed, as it affects both the trainee art teachers and members of the public who participate.