IN-PERSON MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY. SECTION A

Abstract

Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s queer phenomenology, a decentered, non-normative mode of orientation, and relational concepts of space such as sociologist Martina Löw’s, my PhD project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), challenges the hegemony of traditional, Euclidean geometry in spatial education by developing an embodied, arts-based pedagogical framework. Moving beyond analytical description, this research asks: How can we not just conceptualize but practice space relationally? How do we engage interactions between body, memory and site? And how can built spaces become starting points for artistic exploration that deconstruct spatial structures, as well as their forms of representation and their societal power implications? The project argues for a model where space is a starting point for artistic inquiry and social critique, synthesizing transdisciplinary practices—from site-writing and dérive to artistic displacement—to create a methodology where theory, artistic practice, and critical reflection productively intertwine. Central to this approach is mediation as a means of co-constituting shared spatial experiences. Through a series of art-educational activities, the research demonstrates that this practice is not merely a way of rethinking space, but a vital process for fostering critical spatial awareness and self-efficacy. This work provides a foundational model for anchoring critical spatial practice within the professionalization of spatial art education.