Sound activists: children and artists as co-creators in multi-area experiences with electroacoustic music in a highly complex centre

Abstract

Highly complex educational centres host a diversity of children who generally come from poor families and live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This study, funded by the Resistències Artístiques programme of the Consortium of Museums of the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain), consisted of an artist in residence for 20 sessions (60 hours) in a highly complex primary school. Fifteen 6th grade students took part. The aim of this study is to analyse and understand the teachers' perceptions of an experience of multidisciplinary artistic creation through contemporary languages in a highly complex centre. The artist, together with the active participation of the students and the collaboration of the teaching staff, oriented his work towards multidisciplinary creation (music, corporal expression, plastic arts and drama) using contemporary languages for each of the areas involved. The results are reflected in the compositions and processes undertaken. Thus, the processes resulted in 1) positive attitudinal changes in the students with respect to participation, involvement and motivation that re-signify the usefulness of artistic processes in vulnerable contexts; 2) transformation of the teaching perspective in the face of the methodological possibilities derived from this type of artistic-creative approaches centred on sound.