Ice Fragments

Creative Education for Sustainability in a Museum Focusing on Glaciers

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24270/netla.2025/7

Keywords:

climate change, museum education, sustainability, education, creativity, interdisciplinary learning

Abstract

Many museums have taken part in the effort to respond to the climate threat facing humanity by emphasising education for sustainability in their work. The exhibition Resistance in the National Gallery of Iceland is one such contribution. During the 2023- 2024 school year, nine pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools participated in the interdisciplinary project Ísabrot – Glaciers in Icelandic Art, which focused on training visual literacy as well as offering art workshops developed within the context of the exhibition. The objective of this study is to analyse the interdisciplinary educational opportunities offered by the art workshops and the curriculum resources that constitute the result of the projects. The teaching materials, now published, were developed by the National Gallery of Iceland’s education division in collaboration with nine working artists. The project was funded by a grant from the Children’s Culture Fund. The objective of the art workshops was to use creative educational approaches to inspire students’ interest in glaciers, visual art, and sustainability issues. The artists who developed the workshops tackled issues related to glaciers from a wide variety of perspectives.

The main results of the study were that the participants interviewed considered the creation of educational opportunities for students in museums to be of high importance. The creative methodology of education for sustainability invites interdisciplinary opportunities that have the potential to capture the interest of students. John H. Falk’s (2021) ideas on the value of experiences in a museum find common ground with the ideas of the teachers who participated in the workshops with their students. The study’s results indicate that interdisciplinary education in a museum is highly appropriate for students and has the potential to support their interest in sustainability issues while also directly connecting to the priorities of national curricula.

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Author Biographies

  • Ásthildur Jónsdóttir, University of Iceland - School of Education

    Ásthildur Jónsdóttir (astajons@hi.is) is a freelance researcher and a part-time adjunct professor at the School of Education, University of Iceland. Ásthildur completed her PhD in Education at the University of Iceland in 2017 and Doctor of Arts at the University of Lapland, Finland in the same year. She completed her MA in Art Education at New York University, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human in 2007 with an emphasis on multiculturalism, and an MA in Education at the Iceland University of Teacher Education in 2003 with an emphasis on computers and information technology in art education. Ásthildur completed her BEd at the Iceland University of Teacher Education in 1996 with an emphasis on art education. Ásthildur curated the exhibition Resistance at the National Gallery of Iceland. She has directed the project LAN (Learning about Nature Through Art) for the City of Reykjavík since 2015.

  • Hanna Ólafsdóttir, University of Iceland - School of Education

    Hanna Ólafsdóttir (hannao@hi.is) is an Assistant Professor of Art Education and the programme director of the Visual Arts track at the University of Iceland’s School of Education. She graduated from the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts in 1994, Danmarks Designskole in 1996, and completed a Master’s degree in Art Education at the Iceland University of the Arts in 2011. Her work bridges artistic practice and art education, with a focus on artistic research, collaboration, creative processes, and communication. She emphasises socially-engaged art education through interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and aesthetic approaches. Her research centres on art education and cultural studies, and she has developed courses that explore the relationship between museums and education. Hanna actively participates in international collaborations.

  • Ragnheiður Vignisdóttir, National Gallery of Iceland

    Ragnheiður Vignisdóttir (ragnheidur.vignisdottir@listasafn.is) works as the head of education and publishing at the National Gallery of Iceland. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of Iceland, and completed exchange semester at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Ragnheiður also has a diploma in Cultural Mediation and a Master’s degree in Editing and Publishing from the University of Iceland. She has led major educational projects at the gallery, participated in international collaborative initiatives, and is one of the authors of the educational material Sjónarafl – Þjálfun í Myndlæsi (Visual Power – Training in Visual Literacy). Ragnheiður has directed and initiated several educational projects that are now part of the National Gallery of Iceland’s regular programming, such as the Krummi Children’s Club, Quality Moments for Older Citizens, and Sjónarafl – Þjálfun í Myndlæsi

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Published

2025-05-15

Issue

2025: Netla - Ársrit

Section

Ritrýndar greinar

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Ásthildur Jónsdóttir, Hanna Ólafsdóttir, Ragnheiður Vignisdóttir

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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