Developing place-based pedagogies to challenge institutional authority

This paper discusses a current research project being undertaken by Tate Liverpool with a local university. The study is exploring the impact of a school-in-residence programme on children, teachers and the gallery. The invitation to schools to undertake these residencies fits with current agendas within the museum and galleries sector where institutions internationally have increasing ambitions towards handing over to their audiences, encouraging them to take ownership of their physical and intellectual spaces. However, the power dynamics at play, in terms of who makes the invitation and on what terms, have ethical implications that make taking up this offer challenging and potentially limiting. This paper will begin to explore the possibilities of Place Based Education and its pedagogy as a practice to challenge these positions for both the teacher and gallery.