Dr Joanna Fursman

Senior Lecturer Art Education

Email:: Joanna.fursman@bcu.ac.uk

Joanna Fursman is an artist, researcher and educator, employing lens-based practice to critically explore the distinct fields of pedagogy, contemporary art-practice and the photographic image. Fursman’s research and art practice examines non-normative representations of education, specifically through photography and film making. Her research approaches interrogate collaborative practices through an ongoing project entitled ‘Looking for a new School Portrait’. This situates the camera in spaces where education happens, employing practice-based research to investigate experiences of being educated and explores the possibilities of camera technology as a pedagogue.

Fursman has published book chapters and journal articles that explore the crucial role of the camera and the photo-walk that employ Bolt’s theory of ‘imaging’ to document education and pedagogy from the point of view of young people and more recently how film making in education contexts signal to embodied and affective practices of pedagogy.

Fursman is the subject leader for the PGCE Art and Design and has worked in Secondary, Further and Higher Education since 2005. Fursman has also taught Fine Art, the Artist Teacher Scheme and led the MA Art and Education Practices at Birmingham School of Art and BA Art and Education and Primary Initial Teacher Education at Newman University. Fursman was a co-director, curator and fundraiser at Catalyst Arts, Belfast, is a member of the Women in Photography Birmingham network, has an ongoing exhibition practice and has also been a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in Madrid.

Areas of Expertise

Qualifications

Memberships

Teaching

Research

Publications

Publications:

Fursman, Joanna. (2024) Out of Time, pedagogy, temporality and the affective encounter. Film and moving image making practice in art education. International Journal of Art and Design Education. Volume 43, Issue 4.

Fursman, Joanna. (2024) Photography and Pedagogy: Reflecting on Initial Teacher Education Practice with a Camera. In Ash, A and Carr, P (Eds) The Practical Guide to Teaching Art and Design in the Secondary School. Abingdon. Routledge.

Fursman, Joanna and Woodhead, Melanie. (2024) The demands of the artwork, complicating artist teacher practice through photography. In Payne, Rachel (2024) (Ed). Professional Learning for Artist Teachers. Oxford University Press.

Sheilds, Alison, Cloutier, Genevieve, Fursman, Joanna et al. (2023) Inhabiting/Living Practice: An emergent collaborative Arts-Based Exhibition. In, Mreiwed, Hala. Carter, Mindy R. Hashem, Sara. Blake-Amarante. Candace H. (Eds) Looking back to look forward: Making connections in and through arts-based educational research. Artful INquiry Research Group, McGill University, Montréal.

Fursman, Joanna (2023). A Letter to Radio Club. Digital publication of article written about Sonic Signals, an Eastside Projects collaboration with Chandos Primary School and Abbas Zahedi. Published digitally here: https://eastsideprojects.org/wp-content/uploads/Joanna-Fursman-A-letter-to-Radio-Club-2023.pdf

Fursman, Joanna (2022) Instructing Instructions. Finding New Pedagogies at the School of the Underkraft'. In, Penketh, Claire (Ed) AD, Anti-Ableist Takeover Issue. Issue 35. NSEAD.

Fursman, Joanna (2020) Chasing Pedagogy, Can this be a School if it doesn’t look like one? International Journal of Education through Art. Volume 16. Issue 2

Conference proceedings:

November 24^th-25^th 2023:

‘Out of Time: pedagogy, temporality and the affective encounter. Film and moving image practice in Art Education. Presentation at the International Journal of Art and Design Education (IJADE) annual conference. University of Chester.

July 6-8^th 2021:

‘Looking for a New School Portrait: 2. Photo booth’. Conference Proceedings for ‘Seamos Radicales, Being Radical’ at International Society for Education through Art (InSea) European Congress. University of Andalucia, Baeza. Spain.

May 2021:

‘Looking for a School Portrait: Constellated Practices in a Secondary School during a Lockdown’. Conference proceedings at Hybrid Spaces: Re-imagining Pedagogy, Practice and Research. International Journal of Art and Design Education Conference.

July 2019:

Delegate and Artist at ‘Making’ at World Congress for the International Society for Education through Art, University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada.

May 2019:

Delegate at ‘Making a Third Space’, Amsterdamse Hogeschool de Kunsten. Breitner Academie. Amsterdam, Netherlands.

January 2019:

Delegate at Inside/Out PhD Festival. Faculty of Art, Design and Media. Birmingham City University.

November 2017:

Delegate at iJADE Conference. Art and Design as Agent for Change. National College for Art and Design (NCAD). Dublin, Ireland.

July 2017:

Delegate at CSpace Conference. Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences. Birmingham City University.

July 2016:

Delegate at ‘Research Matters’ Conference. Faculty of Art, Design and Media. Birmingham City University.

June 2015:

Delegate at National Society for Education through Art and Design Conference. ‘Art, Craft and Design. Preparing young people for life in Modern Britain’. Birmingham Midland Institute.

November 2013:

Delegate at the 4th iJADE Research Conference. ‘Art For Life, Race, Gender, Disability and Class – Critical Discourses Around Participation in Arts Education’. University of Chester.

Work With Industry

Commissions and Exhibitions

October 3^rd – November 30^th 2024

‘Steps of Ten’, Brighton Photofringe. Exhibition of photographs made with children at The Oval Primary School, Yardley, Birmingham.

April – June 2023.

Ikon Gallery ‘Creative Connections’ commission. Artist Educator workshops with Year 4 pupils at Oval Primary School, Yardley, Birmingham. Pupils’ work exhibited at the Schools Showcase at Ikon Gallery.

14/07/23 - 30/07/23 2023.

Ikon Gallery, ‘Creative Connections Schools Showcase’. Group exhibition. Dissemination of photographs and artwork made with year 4 pupils at Oval Primary Exhibition details and 3d visit here: https://www.ikon-gallery.org/exhibition/schools-showcase-creative-connections
2022: Film Commission for SHIFT Film Series, Published by Freelands Foundation ArtistTeacher Art Teacher development strand. My SHIFT film can be viewed here: https://freelandsfoundation.co.uk/shift-2022
2020-2022: ‘Unprecedented’ Exhibition of photographs made with young people in Birmingham Secondary Schools. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. April – November 2022.
April 2022: Instructing Instructions at The British Art Show 9 in collaboration with Mark Essen, Wolverhampton School of Art.
2020 – 2022: Arts Connect, Artist Commission for the British Art Show 9. Award to develop art workshops to engage young people in five Black Country secondary schools with the exhibition of the British Art Show 9, Wolverhampton. Commission awarded in 2020 and completed by 2022.
May 2021: ‘Assemble’ Ikon For Artists. Ikon Gallery
2020: Grain Photography Hub Covid-19 Responses Bursary. Commission award to document the experiences of young people in secondary schools in Birmingham between autumn 2020 and Spring 2021. The commission details can be viewed here: https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/joanna-fursman/
(This photography work was bought by the Birmingham Museums Trust in 2022 using the Tessa Sidey Bequest to depict and document young people in Birmingham and exhibited in ‘Unprecedented’ exhibition listed above)
July 2019: ‘Looking for a New School Portrait’ Arts Based Research Exhibition for Doctoral Students. Insea 2019 World Congress. The Nest, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.