Inventário e Partilha

Abstract

Education through art. This is the motto of many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), that have social transformation as their discourse. Art is the axis of the work of these NGOs, valued because of its authonomy, its delightfulness and its capacity of attracting the interest of children and youngsters. This research discusses critically the NGOs´ approach to art teaching and the role of art education in social transformation. What one finds is a yet shallow understanding of the role of the art educator. There is too much talk about art educators, but the profession is not linked to a specific educational preparation. Among artists, educators, managers and sponsors, there is no recognition of the art educator as a professional able to work in NGOs that have a focus on art; thus, art education is neglected as a field of knowledge, and its teaching practice is strongly devoted to production which is the balancing item offered to the sponsors. Many NGOs, despite their will of getting it right, refuse to potencialize their action, and limit their vision of art to doing, refraining from developing a knowledge that could in fact contribute to a critical apprehension of reality. In so doing, they join a process that Paulo Freire called domestication. In other words, these NGOs dilute or even invert their role and, in the name of art, many times distort the purpose of political transformation, converting it into an adaptation process, underestimating their potential as contributors to the construction of critical and active actors.