The frictions and blessings of doing community arts in schools with multilingual pupils : Ethical considerations

Abstract

Ethical reflections are integral to community art, which aims for equitable encounters and collaboration. However, the reality in which many community art projects are conducted creates friction with this aim. The asymmetrical positions of artists and participants and the sometimes limited possibilities for participants to regulate their participation, especially in formal education settings, pose challenges that must be addressed. This article analyses ethical challenges in facilitating community arts projects in primary schools. Data was collected from two projects with multilingual preparatory-class pupils led by two dance and community artists in collaboration with a class teacher. The projects aimed to engage pupils in artistic processes and facilitate Finnish-language learning through participation in artistic activities. Using autoethnographic methods and thematic analysis, we examined the ethically important moments reflected in our work diaries. These often unpredictable and fleeting everyday moments are seemingly unrelated to ethics; however, they have the potential for ethical concerns as they entail the possibility of wrongdoing. We explore critical ethical considerations and possibilities in artistic processes within educational contexts, aiming to offer new insights into the factors influencing such processes.