Open School East, Pedagogies of Space

Sam Thorne (Nottingham Contemporary) spoke at Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation in the context of our conference “Pedagogies of Space” on self-organized education and artists’ work with social space, focusing on Catedra Arte de Conducta, School of Panamerican Unrest and Open School East.

‘Located in a former library and community centre in De Beauvoir Town, East London, Open School East is a unique space that brings together:
A free study programme for emerging artists;
A multifaceted programme of events and activities open to all.
Open School East was founded in 2013 in response to spiralling tuition fees and student debt. It was instituted as a space for artistic learning and production that is experimental, versatile and highly collaborative.
Central to Open School East’s approach is a commitment to foster cultural, intellectual and social exchanges between artists and the broader public. We do this by opening our study programme outwards, responding to our locality and providing an informal environment for the sharing of knowledge and skills across various communities – artistic, local and otherwise.’