From last July to September, Korea and Indonesia have presented arts and culture educational programs combining various topics including art, science, and nature.
Titled Made in Cirebon, the project was implemented in Cirebon, a port city in the northwestern part of Java Island, Indonesia as part of Arts & Culture Education ODA organized by Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES).

*Arts & Culture Education ODA
Arts & Culture Education ODA aims at sharing the power and value of arts and culture education with developing countries and contribute to local education and communities. From Vietnam in 2013, KACES has expanded its ODA programs to Indonesia in 2018. It has been implementing arts and culture education focusing on various fields including visual art, contemporary dance, and theater.

Cirebon was selected this year as a trial-case of collaboration with the local artist community. In this article, different aspects of Made in Cirebon are portrayed. Though travels between the two nations were restricted because of COVID-19, you will find how it was imbued with vibrant energy and passion.

Made in Cirebon: Indonesia Local Artist Collaboration Arts & Culture Education ODA

Made in Cirebon is a new Arts & Culture Education ODA that KACES delivered in Indonesia following the ongoing arts and culture education program which started in 2018 focusing on the local traditional art Batik.
Local artists with expertise in traditional Indonesian art shared new forms of arts and culture education contents, based on which a new education program combining tradition and technology was developed.
In the pre-workshop that took place from July 25th to 26th, professionals in the field of arts and culture education from Korea and Indonesia met remotely. They shared social issues in Cirebon to understand local cultures better, which became the framework of the discussion of education contents.

Warming up by learning how to say ‘Hi’ in both languages, there were serious debates on the value of arts and culture education in the time of COVID-19. We held workshops to train mediators in August where Korean art education specialists met Cirebon artists online to explore different educational methodologies thoroughly.

Boo Jihyun, an artist from Korea, talked about installation art based on hydroelectric power while Fransisco Retno, an Indonesian artist, discussed Luwes mask dance, and Alfi Zachkyelle instructed stop motion animation.
After the intensive training, we developed a wide range of educational programs for students that explored environmental issues, the problem of isolation brought about by COVID-19 and traditional culture and technology. Also, education manuals were produced as publications and videos.

The Miraculous 5 Days with Arts and Culture Education Programs
The efforts of the artists from those two countries culminated in Cirebon SMPN 1 state junior high school.
In the 5-day workshop, 100 students who participated learned about and created installation works based on hydroelectric power, traditional Indonesian puppet theater Wayang and stop motions using gamelan.

Made in Cirebon Student Workshop Program

Made in Cirebon, Indonesia Local Artist Collaboration Arts & Culture Education ODA sought to share new arts and culture education that goes beyond the boundaries of conventional thinking, rather than merely passing on education programsthat Korea had developed. Combining online and offline education, Made in Cirebon also demonstrated the potential of Indonesian arts and culture education. We hope the field continues to prosper with the steady support of Arts & Culture Education ODA.

Together with Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) and Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) held The 6th Post-COVID19 Art Forum: Post-COVID19, the Future of Arts Education at 2pm, November 12th. It was livestreamed on the Facebook page of MCST as well as KACES’ YouTube channel. The program was also presented in tandem with UNESCO’s online debate led by cultural professionals, the ResiliArt movement.
Since last July, MCST has been organizing Post-COVID-19 Art Forum in partnership with seven cultural institutions to tackle the challenges the art scene is facing and seek new policies for the post-COVID-19 era. In the 6th edition, participants discussed the changes the pandemic has brought about and how the field has been responding to these challenges. Also, they tried to pinpoint imminent issues to be solved and explore new directions.

Session 1: The Value of Arts Education and Its Future

Session 2: The Capacity and Role of Arts Education

"New Normal of Temporary Daily Lives: Dancing Amid Uncertainties"
(Presented by Jae Hwan-Jung /Visiting Professor, School of Dance, K-Arts, Korea National University of Arts)

⦁ Status of arts education sector amidst the pandemic: Various measures were taken for safety and it appeared that students preferred online lectures as they did not have to commute and it reduced emotional labor. On the other hand, individual learning required resources such as Internet data or learning equipment. Also, there are concerns about the guidelines becoming standardized too quickly in institutions/schools resulting in the possible failure to embrace diversified and autonomous solutions.

⦁ New direction/standard for arts education: While plans are postponed and temporary daily lives continue, we must reflect on what the new normal is and revisit the previous standards (old normal) of the role (function) of arts and culture education.

* Agendas for the new normal: the impact of postponed artist practices; the possibility of arts as a solution for social integration and closing the gap in creativity education; among the values that were pursued in existing arts and culture education, which ones would change; if we should prioritize community-oriented values such as collaboration and consolidation over individual rights.

* Agendas for the old normal: how quality arts education comes down to individual lives; if education is a precondition for the appreciation of art; if the artist’s capability is a necessity to enhance citizens’ cultural capacity.
- It is necessary to check the needs and listen to the voices of those in the field, particularly at this point as the field’s demand in capacity is changing and we must prepare the future of arts education.

* According to World Economic Forum 2020, technology, media literacy, stress tolerance, and active learning were added to existing creativity and problem solving as the 10 in-demand skills across jobs changes in the next five years.

"Thoughts and Practices of Samdi Amid the Present COVID-19 Pandemic"
(Presented by Park Hyung-Ju / Director, Samdi - Gwangju Youth Creative Hub Space)

⦁ Changes caused by COVID-19: Instead of rashly speculating on the time after COVID-19, Park seeks to identify future directions from the tasks we face and experiences we have today.

⦁ Changes in educational methodology: Putting aside the discussion of contact and untact, it has been an opportunity to revisit the fundamental relationship and notion of the teacher and student.

- This allows us see the existing educational methodology in a different light (breaking the mold and eliminating unnecessary aspects, students become more comfortable and proactive).
* Examples: Meal Recovery Projects (saying ‘Hi’ on Zoom while eating), 1824 Online Essay Club (writing and publishing texts about how COVID-19 changed everyday life), N After School Projects (combination of both contact and untact programs)

⦁ Changes in arts education: We witnessed, during the pandemic, arts education going back to the basics and the essentials. Instead of the issue of contact/untact, it was an opportunity to rethink the teacher-student relationship.

⦁ The capability and role of teaching artist: The role of teaching artist as a positive helper was reconfirmed.
- A teaching artist should be able to create an environment that offers motivation, rather than simply giving instructions; inducing just the minimum necessary to assist the student’s education; continuously think about ways to intrinsically motivate the student.
- For this, the following are important; starting by being curious about the student, to catch, listen, and question.

Session 3: Arts Education Platform and Technology

"Live Streaming Art"
(Cho Chung-Yeon /Professor, School of Film, TV & Multimedia, Korea National University of Arts)

⦁ Changes in educational methodology: The changes live streaming brought about to the methodology of sharing and educating art production.
- Various methods are adopted in education including Zoom, Minecraft studio, VR chat, untact gallery/museum, and live performance.
- Live stream business is growing dramatically; for example, 50% of students in U.S are listening to classes online.

⦁ Cases of arts-education-related live streaming in and out of Korea: Future possibility of arts education
- Art making streaming contents on Amazon Twitch; Adobe live streaming application; Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra ‘meta performance,’ communicating with audiences about ‘future theater’ on Twitch adopting game formats; VR performances

⦁ Future prospects of art: arts education and production within the metaverse, such as games, moving beyond institutionalized education.
- Despite growing concerns about art education in relation to the pandemic, as we can see in Kitkit School*, it will yet open a new horizon of art education, making it accessible to more people.
* The Korean venture company Enuma won the Grand Prize of Global Learning Xprize (Winner in 2019. A digital education solution for children to learn foundational skills to learn how to use tablet PCs without someone else’s help).

"Issues and Direction of Platforms forPublic Arts Education"
(Presented by Cho Eun-Ah /Professor, Graduate School of Culture & Arts Management, Chugye University for the Arts)

⦁ The necessity of platforms: There have been continuing demands for a public platform for online arts and culture education. Yet, securing necessary resources, cooperating and building partnerships with experts and copyright issues need to be handled.

⦁ Function of the platform: Based on the analysis of public/private education platforms as well as art and cultural flatforms around the world, we found the followings;
- Public education platforms were often concentrated on providing contents. They had stable systems but lacked art and cultural contents beyond school curriculum.
- Public art and cultural platforms often lacked educational service or archives of educational contents.
-Private arts and culture education platforms offered diversified contents and had a clear target and explicit functions.

⦁ Future directions of public art education platforms: To secure people’s right to learn; to provide quality resource; to motivate and encourage the student’s participation; support teaching artist (mediator) network; to develop multifaceted LMS where knowledge and experience beyond school curriculum can be created and shared.
-Main components and functions to be considered include resource/studying materials, LMS, learning tools (interaction, cooperation) and platform users.

⦁ Major tasks for a successful platform: A comprehensive platform blending both online and offline aspects; to develop platform node contents; resolve intellectual property right issues; to apply edutech; and KACES’s leadership
- The platform must be flexible and responsive with a long-term vision and specific priorities in each stage of the process

* Please cilck here to watch the full forum video

- How We’ve Come Distant Yet Close by Online Remote Arts and Culture Training Programs for Professional Development

In this report, we present an interview with Ko Dae Woong, planner of the course Arts Education and Administrative Support and PD of C Enter todiscuss ArtE Academy, KACES’ arts and culture education programs, and how they were moved online in the era of social distancing that COVID-19 brought about.

Q. What is ArtE Academy?

A. ArtE Academy is Korea’s only arts and culture education training course that aims at cultivating experts to lead the field. The programs and curriculums are systematically run based on the ability of each individual courses are set. In order for the capacity building of the wide range of professionals constituting the arts education ecosystem including instructors, teaching staffs, education planners and administrative staffs, it has been organizing training programs in various forms such as group sessions, online sessions and voluntary sessions; and this year, ArtE Academy came online.
Making a complete transition to online for the outbreak of COVID-19, ArtE Academy successfully provided a safer environment for participants. It also overcame the limits of time and space and enhanced accessibility of high-quality training.

Q. What is the course Arts Education and Administrative Support about?

A. ArtE Academy provided the training course Arts Education and Administrative Support in August 2020 to help develop the identity and capacity as an arts education administrator.
One of the important parts in this training program is the exchange and networking among arts education administrators from various regions and institutions.
In order to achieve these two goals, the program consisted of 3 online sessions and 2 remote learning sessions where they met each other on real-time from a distance.

Now, we will discuss with Ko who designed the course regarding the significance ofarts and culture education, arts education training in the social distancing era as well as the necessary role and attitude of an arts education professional.

Q. Since last year, you have been leading this training program Arts Education and Administrative Support for art education administrators. For the spread of COVID-19, the training that had been planned to take place offline was brought online. How would you describe the differences, advantage and disadvantage of the respective formats?

A. I believe it is the sense of presence. One of the most important things as an arts educator is communication. The interest of each participant, the questions they have are critical but online training had obvious limits in terms of interaction. However, it also triggered the diffusion and recreation of information and I gained an opportunity to present the learning materials I made to a different group of people through the hands of video professionals. I believe technological and media development will bring interaction and communication in the social distancing era to another level, overcoming existing boundaries. Also, it will allow people to share knowledge and experience, improving each other, without any environmental constraints.

Q. What was the key message you wanted to deliver to the participants of the online and remote professional training program Arts Education and Administrative Support?

A. Our society needs art. Art exists based on the interrelationship between the creator and the audience, which means that artists are not enough for art to exist. However, when we look into the Korean society, it has the system that cultivates artists but lacks the process for audiences. We grew in an environment that only asks for the right answers and does not let us appreciate art. Such circumstances make us realize the importance of the cooperation between arts educators and administration. As there are conflicts wherever there are people, there are conflicts between the society and art. I hope the private and public could work together to get over the challenges and complement each other, which will create a society full of art.

Q. What role and attitude should artists and administrators pursue to develop an arts and culture education program that actively engages and communicates with the local community?

A. Each of them should consistently think about their role and also find a consensus. In some cases, the roles of creating and planning are solely assigned to artists. However, it is important that we keep in mind that it is not like artists are always right and administration is wrong, or administration is normal and artists are not. They need to understand each other, based on which they should agree on each of their role and work together.

Q. While the uncertainties of COVID-19 have caused various social conflicts and increase in the level of anxiety, what role can art and arts and culture education play?

In the Korean art scene, power is concentrated in the hands of a few and it is also highly dependent on public funding. Limited public resources are most likely to be cut for the pandemic, for which many artists will face difficult situations. In these circumstances, I would not hope that they play a role but would manage to survive and continue their artistic practices within the given limits.
I hope art will make us remember and reflect on those that we missed. It is expected that the importance of contact will keep growing as the age of social distancing continues. I hope arts and culture educators will teach us how we could fill our lives with the stories of each work and appreciate the value whenever we encounter art in our lives.

Yoon Dong Hee (Artist and teaching artist)

* This article was excerpted from one of the reports in Arts and Culture Education Analysis Report Volume 3 by KACES' Information, Research and Development Center, “Suggestions from Program Participants for Better Online Learning Environment” by participants of the online arts and culture training program.

The Necessity of Arts and Culture Education, As What We Need Now Is Not More Crisis but Hope

COVID-19 has completely changed our daily lives. The biggest change would be that gathering is not as free as it used to be. A lot of people work at home and students stopped going schools. To prevent the virus from spreading, we are not allowed to meet each other. It is just like an SF novel or a disaster blockbuster. Now, it’s almost been a year; longer than we expected and the end is yet to be known. We should drop the idea that it’d be over soon but be prepared. Arts and culture education is a field in which communication and emotional interaction play a pivotal role, regardless of the genre of arts. Facing an unexpected time of social distancing, how should this field respond to and prepare itself?

In 2020, most of the arts and culture education programs took place online for the pandemic. Amid worries and concerns, online arts and culture education commenced. So, how did it go?

The ones who could best answer this question would be those who participated in the program. Shin Kang Woo (5th grade at Oma Elementary School) and his farther, Son Ha Eum (6th grade at Goyang Elementary School) and her mother who participated in Kkumdarak Saturday Culture School (hereinafter Saturday School)Keu-Keu-Ki-Ki Spin Off Come Visit My Village (Organized by Joongbu University) as well as Lee Kyu Jun, one of the participants of the arts and culture education program for adults shared interesting facts that we should know.

*Kkumdarak Saturday Culture School
An out-of-school-time arts and culture education program KACES initiated in 2012 for younger children, teenagers and their families to join various educational courses and experience art. The program is organized in partnership with Arts and Culture Education Centers in 17 different regions.

Online arts and culture educational programs, what were they like?
Children who just completed their whole course seemed sad that the program was all over. When I asked how the program was, the fact that it was online seemed to have no influence. I could feel the efforts the teachers and the researchers made to develop the contents.

What were the differences between online and offline classes?
The difference that the participants of the Saturday School pointed out were actually advantages of online class. Especially, Kim Seo Yun was a participant who had experienced both online and offline courses. Seo Yun shared how online school was easier to access, on which her mother and other parents as well as Lee Kyu Jun also agreed. The convenience of saving time and effort to access seem to be a great benefit to participants of all ages living busy and hurried lives.

Any disadvantages?
The most frequently mentioned disadvantage was that they could not do group activities and meet teachers. Ha Eum said that she’d be happy to go to the teacher’s university and even in several groups, it’d be great if they could have in-person classes as well.

Lee Kyu Jun who participated in the program for adults (Arts Comma Wood Carving Foundation Course) also said it was a pity that he could not meet those with who he has a common hobby. According to him, he received learning materials before each class and teachers were well prepared to there weren’t any difficulties so far, but he would have liked it more if he could meet and interact more with fellow participants.
It seems necessary to seek ways to enhance communication with participants to continue the online format.

Online classes are not crises but a new opportunity
From the participants, we saw hope. Shin Kang Woo’s farther said that thanks to the teachers’ passion, the classes were highly satisfying and fulfilling, for which he believed that online formats will be maintained and with technological upgrades, more students will be able to learn in better environment. Kim Seo Yun’s mother said that seeing how Seo Yun was more focused than school classes, she hoped that she will grow emotionally and will learn the power to adapt to a different world through arts and culture education. Son Ha Eum’s mother said that she often felt sorry that children had to be at home so she was deeply appreciative of the fact that the program offered different experiences and thoughts. She added that it’d be great if there would be programs that boys who are more active could also enjoy. Shin Kang Woo’s farther also mentioned the necessity of wider range of programs.

Lee Kyu Jun pressed the necessity of arts and culture education. He also pointed out the importance of making it more accessible. What would be the role of us working in this field of arts and culture education? I think we should put aside all the concerns and put our energy into exploring ideas and immerse oneself in it.

I’d like to share Lee’s words with those who are still hesitant to join online arts and culture education programs. After all, the barrier between the present and future participants might be our worried minds.