Delight in disruption: reflections on the pedagogic practice of multi-disciplinary artist, Sally Madge

This presentation reflects on the shifting boundaries of art and life and the pedagogic practice of, multi-disciplinary artist, Sally Madge.

Presenting Madge’s practice as an ongoing cultural relay, which continues, consciously and unconsciously, through those who knew and worked with her; this dissolves definitions and challenges conventions through experimental processes, rule breaking and critical enquiry.

Projecting belief and equality, Madge modelled authentic and progressive teaching practices; her approaches were contemporary, political, lived and experiential. Promoting ideas of resistance, liberation, growth, and change (Freire, 1972/2000; Boal, 1993), she instinctively made connections through improvisation, problem solving and collaboration; using inter-disciplinary methodologies to test, question, reflect, provoke, and alter perceptions, this supported idea and material exploration, using responsive, physical, unpredictable encounters and moments of engagement.

Madge naturally devised welcoming, accepting, and collaborative spaces, taking delight in disruption. Reversing roles and complicating notions of provenance and ownership, she successfully facilitated and made room for others to enter into open exchanges of ideas and practices through messy play and imaginary spaces of intrigue, innovation, and possibility. She invited others into spaces of game play and imaginary worlds. As an agitator, she encouraged activism, applying and fostering bravery.

The paper aims to share insight into Madge’s practice and suggests there is a lot to learn by promoting approaches that encourage a do first, think later attitude, and by embracing unknown outcomes with curiosity, a sense of possibility, and humour.