Touch is the first sense we get to experience in life. It is the sense that is fundamental for our contact with the world. In the last couple of years, we have found ourselves living amidst the times of abstract distance and sensory impoverishment. 'Beyond Gaze' investigates touch as an artistic and pedagogical medium, and proposes that when combined creatively, touch-led strategies and dramatic inquiry methods hold great potential in joining differences productively and empowering individuals of different abilities to learn from one another through a shared sensory modality.
The PhD research works towards developing a touch-led dramatic inquiry framework to be used among both able-bodied children and children with blindness and low vision. The research project asks:
How can a touch-led dramatic inquiry framework function as an educational medium that develops artistic collaboration, sense-making, and community among children, including both able-bodied children and those with sensory impairments? What role can a touch-led dramatic inquiry framework play in moving process drama toward more inclusive, fully embodied practices? How can a touch-led dramatic inquiry framework be applied in (art) educational settings?
'Beyond Gaze' brings together a presentation series and a three-year workshop series. The analysis of practices from the presentation series forms the basis for indexing touch-led artistic strategies. The workshops utilize activities designed in tandem with the participants, which in turn model the scaffolding for the touch-led dramatic inquiry framework.
Promoters: Bob Selderslaghs (Conservatoire), Pascal Gielen (Uantwerp)
Follow Can Boyan's research at www.beyondgaze.work
