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ED U C ATION AS POL IT IC AL STR ATEGY T im Iv i s on Tom Vandepu t te .In r ec en t y ea r s the r e has been a d is t inc t r enew a l o f i n te r es t in educ a t ion as a means o fex pe r imen ta t ion and as a mode o f o r gan is a t ion . Ar t i s ts hav e engaged in a b r oad r ange o fs e l f - i n i t i a ted p r o jec ts , v a r y ing f r om in fo r m a l r ead ing g r oups and s emina r s , to a l te r na t i v es c hoo ls , c ommun i ty - bas ed pedagog ic a l ex pe r imen ts , and on l ine lea r n ing p la t f o r ms . Some o fthes e p r o jec ts migh t a t f i r s t g lanc e appea r to mer e ly c a r r y ov e r the gene r a l i n te r es t i n educ a t ionand the a r t s c hoo l tha t w e hav e bec ome fam i l ia r w i th in the a r t i s t i c p r oduc t ion o f the pas tdec ade . H ow ev e r , i n the i r emphas is on au tonomy and s e l f - o r gan is a t ion , r ec en t a r t i s ts ex pe r imen ts in educ a t ion s eem be t te r unde r s tood as po l i t i c a l s t r a teg ies : as c r ea t i v er es pons es to the gene r a l s oc ia l and ec onomic c ond i t ions o f today o r as a l te r na t i v es toes tab l i s hed a r t s c hoo ls and un iv e r s i ty p r og r ammes .The d is t inc t p r emis e o f the p r o j ec ts tha t tak e th is app r oac h to educ a t i on i s tha t the p r oc es sand s pac e o f lea r n ing bec omes a po l i t i c a l ex pe r imen t in and o f i ts e l f . The o r gan is a t ion o fs c hoo ls , s emina r s , and w o r k s hops a r e s een as a w ay to bu i ld d is c ou r s es , to id en t i fy andc u l t i v a te c ommun i t ies , to dev e lop a c r i t i c a l aw a r enes s o f c on tempor a r y p r ob lems andpos s ib i l i t i e s , and to lea r n how to r es pond to them. Wh i le s ha r ing an unde r s tand ing o feduc a t ion as a po l i t i c a l ques t ion , c a l l i ng fo r c r ea t i v e and c r i t i c a l i nv o lv emen t , the fo r m o fs uc h p r ac t i c es v a r ies depend ing on c on tex t as does the i r s pec i f i c agenda .Some o f thes e p r ac t i c es s pec i f i c a l l y emp loy ex pe r imen ta l modes o f lea r n ing in o r de r to r a is ec ons c ious nes s and fac i l i ta te s e l f - o r gan is a t ion . U l t r a - r e d , a g r oup o f in te r na t iona l a r t i s ts andac t i v i s ts , ex pe r imen t w i th s uc h s t r a teg ies th r ough c o l lec t i v e l i s ten ing w o r k s hops they hav ebeen c a l l i ng the Sc hoo l o f Ec hoes . The London - bas ed C a r r o t Wor k e r s C o l lec t i v e dev e lopsw or k s hops and gu idebook s fo r in te r ns in the a r t w o r ld , i n fo r ming c u r r en t and fu tu r e in t e r ns o fthe i r r i gh ts and po in t ing ou t c ommon w ay s in w h ic h ins t i tu t ions ex p lo i t the i r l abou r . J ak obJ ak obs en , fo r mer ly o f the C openhagen Fr e e U n iv e r s i ty , i s now inv o lv ed in a y ea r - long r es ea r c hp r o jec t r e - ex amin ing the ma te r ia l s o f the c oun te r - c u l tu r a l An t i - U n i v e r s i ty o f 1968 , o r gan is ingw or k s hops , pub l i c a t ions , and teac h - i ns as pa r t o f D oc umen ta 13 . In th i s and many o f t he o the rp r o jec ts , the r e i s a d is t inc t i n te r es t in ex pe r imen ta l fo r ms o f educ a t ion tha t hav e the po ten t ia lto s hape po l i t i c s and empow er loc a l c ommun i t ies , bu i ld ing on ideas abou t r ad ic a l pedagogy f i r s tpopu la r i s ed in s uc h book s as Pao lo F r e i r e s Pedagogy o f the Opp r es s ed ( 1970 ) and Iv an I l l i c h D es c hoo l ing Soc ie ty ( 1971 ) .Othe r ex pe r imen ts as s ume the fo r m o f r e la t i v e ly au tonomous s pac es w he r e i t bec omespos s ib le to ex pe r imen t w i th f o r ms o f lea r n ing and k now ledge ex c hange . The N ew Yo r k - bas ed16 Beav e r Gr oup hav e hos ted independen t r ead ing g r oups , p r es en ta t ions , d is c us s ions ando the r ev en ts f r om the i r s pac e a t 16 Bea v e r St r ee t . The i r w eek ly p r og r amme r eads as anongo ing a t temp t to g r as p the u r gen t and c omp lex ques t ions o f today , to imag ine pos s ib i l i t i e sfo r in te r v en t ion and r es pons e , and to lea r n abou t s t r a teg ies o f o r gan is a t ion . In c on t r as t toac ademic ins t i tu t ions and es tab l i s hed a r t s pac es , the c u r r i c u lum o f the s e l f - o r gan is ed s c hoo lsand s emina r s o f ten appea r s ab le to r es pond s w i f t l y to c u r r en t i s s ues and c an be unc ompr omis edin i ts po l i t i c a l c ommi tmen t . In thes e c as es , s e l f - o r gan is ed p r og r ammes manage to c r ea te ap la t fo r m fo r the d is c us s ion o f i s s ues tha t r ema in ou ts ide o f the s c ope o f ex is t ing ins t i tu t ions .Giv en the i r po ten t ia l po l i t i c a l e f fec t i v enes s , i t i s no t s u r p r i s ing tha t the p r o tes ts o f the las ty ea r s hav e t r igge r ed a new p r o l i fe r a t ion o f au tonomous educ a t ion in i t i a t i v es , s ome s uppo r tedby p r e - ex is t ing ne tw o r k s . Indeed , t he 16 Beav e r r ead ing g r oups as s umed an ac t i v e r o le in theOc c upy Wa l l St r ee t p r o tes ts a long s ide o the r s e l f - r un s emina r s , w o r k s hops and f r ee s c hoo ls , i nN ew Yo r k and ab r oad , c r i t i c a l l y r e f lec t ing on and in fo r ming the p r o tes ts . Thes e p r o jec ts hav ea l low ed a r t i s ts to ha r nes s the i r c r ea t i v i ty fo r po l i t i c a l ends : they func t ion as p la t fo r ms fo rdev e lop ing and d is s emina t ing a l te r na t i v e fo r ms o f r es is tanc e , r e - imag in ing how mee t ings c anbe o r gan is ed , how dec is ions c an be made c o l lec t i v e l y , o r how pub l i c s c an be mob i l i s ed .Bes ides func t ion ing as a d i r ec t po l i t i c a l s t r a tegy , many o f the r ec en t c r i t i c a l ex pe r imen ts ineduc a t ion hav e r es ponded in s ome w ay as a l te r na t i v es to the ex is t ing educ a t iona l i ns t i tu t ions ,bo th ins ide and ou ts ide o f the a r t w o r ld . On the one hand , s ome o f the s e l f - o r gan is ed educ a t ionp r og r ammes c an be unde r s tood as a p r agma t ic r es pons e to ec onomic fac to r s : fund ing w i thd r aw a l ,inc r eas ing c os ts and a c on t r ac t ing job mar k e t . On the o the r hand , today s a r t i s ts - r un ex pe r imen tsa r e a ls o genu ine a t temp ts to p r ov ide an a l te r na t i v e to the un iv e r s i t i es and ac ademies , tha t a r ec ons ide r ed to be inc r eas ing ly ins t r umen ta l i s ed by gov e r nmen ts and c o r po r a t ions .The Pub l i c Sc hoo l , s e t up by Te l i c Ar ts Ex c hange founde r s Sean D oc k r ay and F iona Wh i t t on ,i s an ex amp le o f a p r o jec t tha t s hou ld be und e r s tood in th i s c on tex t , add r es s ing bo th ec ono micand ins t i tu t iona l ques t ions . C onc e iv ed as a s c hoo l w i th no c u r r i c u lum , i ts c las s es a r e c o l lec t i v e lyp r opos ed and admin is te r ed by the pub l i c v ia the o r gan is a t ion s w ebs i te , the r eby do ing aw ay w i ththe s upe r s t r uc tu r e o f i ns t i tu t ions , deg r ees , and the f i x ed d is t inc t ion be tw een teac he r s and s tuden ts .A l though emer g ing d i r ec t l y f r om the in te r es ts and c onc e r ns o f a c on tempor a r y a r t g a l le r y in LosAnge les , the po ten t ia l p la t fo r m fo r The Pub l i c Sc hoo l i s r e la t i v e ly open . A p r o jec t l i k e th is s how s anemphas is on p r ov id ing ac c es s to lea r n ing and fac i l i ta t ing a gene r a l fo r m o f engagemen t independen tf r om ins t i tu t iona l c onc e r ns .

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pragmatic response to eco nomic factors : funding with d rawa l, increasingcosts and a contract ing job market.On th e oth e r hand, todays ar t istsrun exper iments are also genuineattempts to provide an alternativeto th e universities and academies ,which are cons idered to be increasingly instrumentals by governmentsand corporations .The Public School, set up by Telic ArtsExchange founders Sean Dockrayand Fiona Wh itton , is an examp le ofa project t hat should be understoodin this context , addressing b ot h e co -nomi c and institu tiona l qu estions .Conc e ived as a school w it h no curriculum , its c lasses are collectivelyproposed and adm inis tered by thepublic via the organ izat ions website ,thereby do ing away with th e superst ructu re of institutions, degrees ,and th e fi xed distinction betweenteacher s and student s. Althougheme rging direc t ly from th e interestsand co ncerns of a conte mporary ar tgallery in Los Ange les , th e potentialplatform for The Public School is relat ively open . A proje ct like this showsan emphasis on providing access tolearn ing and fac il ita t ing a gene ralform of engagement independentfrom institutional concerns.If the Public School responds to ageneral academic context, otherinitiatives a mo ng st artists haveresponded specifically (and critically)to the state of art schools and pos tgraduate programmes, wh ich havebecome inc reasingly instit utionalized,expensive, and inte g rate d in the artmarket - a tendency exemp lified bythe growing amount of classes focusing on networking and market ingskills. Art ists are increasingly foregoing or pos tpon ing their pos tgraduateeducat ions in favour of resi denciesand summer schools, self-instituti ons and non-degree, alternativeprog rammes . At on e register, thisincludes highly regarded prog rammessuch as the Wh itney IndependentStudy Programme, Skowhegan Summer School and th e Rijksakademie programmes that have always beenpopular bu t perhaps supplementalto t he n or ma l p os tg ra du at e path .At another register, however, therehave been a number of semi -institutional and sem i casual educationalprojects run by artists th at t ake animp lici t pol it ic a l stance against th e

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conventional programmes, ar t iculating a par t icular irreverence for fo rmaleducation that perhaps be tter cap-t ures th e current tendency towardsself organization.This group would ce rt a inly includet he Mo untain Schoo l of Arts , a pro-gramme run from the Mountain Bar inLos Angeles Chinatown. Co-foundedby artists Piero Golia and Eric Wesley ,t h e t ui ti on -free school offers a cu rricu lum that inc ludes lectures on philosophy, law, dance, and art , bu t alsohosts live music and interviews withan eclect ic ar ray of ar t and non artpersonalitie s. In th is context , discussing theo retica l essays and arguingover polit ics are found to be on a hori zontal plane wi th th e straightforwardprocess of meeting well-known artistsand having a barbeq ue. Even morerecently , Bruce High Qua lity Foundation University began of fering coursesthrough their website in Extreme Performance Art , Cobraclass , and TheLanguage of Love : Int ro Italian , fo rar t ists see k ing to escape wha t theyref er to as an untenable ar t scho o lmode l. Their solution is simple: to getth e art school they always wanted bymak ing it up fo r th emselves . As theysay in their man ifesto, Th is is th epremise of BHQFU : that artists canfigure t his thing out.Such ar t programmes become anincreasingly viable substitute fo rexpens ive academic postgraduateprogrammes. However, even thoughtheir strategies offer poten tia l deviati ons from the de bt- laden nor m , itremains unclear whether these proje cts can ac tually manage to providea genuine critic al alternat ive to th eesta b l ished system of art educat ion.While undermining the tradi tions ofthe ar t schoo l, one migh t wond er ift hese groups potential ly cr eate yetano th er kind of accredi tation andexc lusio n - a re -tri balization arounddifferent forms of value. In this case itis possible tha t , rather than avoidingthe i nf luenc e of th e ma rket on edu ca t ion prog rammes , they prov ide adirect line to it .The critique of a rt s ch oo ls and th eprojects emerging from sub culturaland activist circles have not remainedunnoticed and now c oinc ide with anumber of larger institutional projects .Initiatives like the Hayward Gallery sWide O pe n S ch oo l , a te mporary

summer school taught by a varietyof international contemporary art ists,or th e Maybe Educati on and PublicProg rams platf o rm at d UM NT(13), which involves a coll aborationwith the Art Academies Network,signal a conscious recognition of theissue of education by internationalart organizations. The question willbe whether these large-scale eventsmanage to pu t fo rward a coherenta ge nd a b ey on d t he c on ve ntions ofeclectic pub lic programming.Both as forms of organizing po litical engagement and as specificresponses to the condit ion of universit ies and art schoo ls, self-organizedexperiments in educat ion acqu ire aspecific relevance in turbulent times.The econom ic crisis , th e Occupypro tests , and the ongo ing cuts toeducation and soc ial programminghave given a spec ific goal - or anedge - to an involvement by ar t istsin education that would otherwisehave taken place at a distan ce fromcur rent social and political questions.If earlier experiments with educationworked around the idea of educationas ar tis t ic med ium or of the exhibi tion as a school, cur rent experimentsshow the pressing need to make specif ic demands. As the austerity measures and the poli ti cal decisions thatunderlie them deeply affect societiesat large and th e art wor ld in particular, self -organized spaces of learningmight al low us to add ress a speci f icset of urgent questions : How can weorgan ize ourselves ; what are the relevant strateg ies of dissemination anddiscussion ; and how to articulate aco mmo n pro ject?

Tim Ivison and Tom Vandepult e areresearchers at the London Consortium.They are working on a book about criticalexperiments in education , wh ich will bepublished by Bedford Press in the fall.