Radical thresholds: manifestos of art education at MoMA (1943-2019)

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of art education through two manifestos produced within the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York: I Believe (1943) and Art Education as a Radical Act (2019). Using a comparative qualitative methodology based on discourse and categorical analysis, the study analyzes 62 statements by 31 teaching artists from each period to identify continuities and transformations in pedagogical ideals. Results reveal that the 1943 manifesto, written during World War II, conceived art education as a democratic and therapeutic force that nurtures individuality, creativity, and civic responsibility. Conversely, the 2019 manifesto—emerging amid digital globalization, social movements, and institutional crises—redefined art education as a decolonial, inclusive, and socially engaged practice. The comparison shows a historical shift from liberal humanist ideals to critical, collective, and intersectional approaches that confront systemic inequality. Both manifestos reaffirm the role of art education as a transformative act, capable of resisting oppression and reimagining democracy, while exposing the persistent tensions between institutional power and pedagogical freedom.