Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

The concept of “ma,” which originated in Japan, refers to the “pure and… essential void between all things;” “an emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise to be fulfilled” a state of being in/between—between spaces, times, perceptions, cultures. Our paper explores this concept as an east/west, China/Canada pedagogical and cultural exchange, an in-between space that shares a commitment to the arts-based practice of a/r/tography—the interweaving spaces between art (practice), research and teaching in our respective interactions with pre-service teachers. In this paper, the three presenters discuss how ma informs our ways of being and becoming, and how each, respectively, has adapted ma—two in a context of western teacher education (one, a generalist elementary education program that encourages artistic exploration of self-identity as a philosophic component of pre-service teachers; the other, an art specialist education program with a particular focus on community outreach), and the third in the context of chinese art teacher preparation that includes a three-week course in which students apply a/r/tography principles while traveling part of the ancient silk route. As we bring together ma and a/r/tography in this international forum our intellectual exchange provides a collaborative network of evolving philosophical perspectives and practices.