The possibilities of Arts in Special Educational work - Outsider Art

The possibilities of Arts in special educational work Merete Hassel The starting point is the peer-reviewed anthology The possibilities of arts in special educational work, Universitetsforlaget, 2022, where I have been a co-author and one of four editors. I want to highlight the possibilities of arts in special educational work and specifically focus upon one of the perspectives in the anthology: Outsider Art. Trastad Gård was opened in 1954 as Northern Norway's first central institution for people with developmental disabilities. The institution was one of the first in Norway to offer schooling for this group. Design and artistic activity were a central part of the teaching. The art activity became an important point of contact between the local population and the institution. Art became proof that people who were considered uneducable could perform and learn, and for some this was the start of a professional life as an artist an a powerful way of creating possible futures. Trastad Gård was closed in 1991 as part of the HVPU reform. Trastad Samlinger is now a cultural history museum and Outsider Art gallery. The Sami perspective is also visible here. Ragnhild Merete Hassel, senior adviser at the Norwegian Centre for arts and culture in education (KKS), Nord University, Bodø. I have a Bachelor in Library and Information Science, Intermediate course in social anthropology/Sámi studies and a Master’s degree in Adaptive Learning with specialization in special-needs education. My Master,s thesis is related to teachers’ perspectives on arts education for students with intellectual disabilities. Area of responsibility at KKS: networks, research dissemination, customized training etc. ragnhild.m.hassel@nord.no. www.kunstkultursenteret.no https://kunstkultursenteret.no/om-senteret/ansatte/merete-hassel/