A Conversation About A/r/tography: What Are the Qualities of Living Inquiry That Foster a Qualitative Whole in Art Education?

With an a/r/tographic lens, this study renders the journey of five art educators, their first memory of art-related experiences, paths to art education, and teaching through living inquiry. Teachers in this study have had extensive experience as leaders in multiple arts curriculum movements across time and programs. They reflect on art content to examine their own experiences in relation to art practice, evidence provided by high school students, their students’ artwork, and historical art references. Key themes emerged concerning how experiences influence and are embodied in beliefs, understandings, and decision-making for our classrooms; how conversations can provide a stimulus for reflection; how thinking about the arts invites ambiguity in understanding; and how curriculum that addresses abstract concepts and thinking skills invites student engagement in inquiry, learning, and being awake to possibilities.