5 August 2025

The Art Education, Culture and Practice MA examines the relationship between art practice, culture and pedagogy and enables students to develop innovative approaches to educational research across sites for education, such as art colleges, schools, galleries and alternative or DIY spaces for art education.

Three alumni of the programme reflect on the MA’s impact on their career trajectories.

Discover the archive of our alumni’s research and practice.

Reflecting on Britishness and colonial legacies

By Melise Djemal, Art Education, Culture and Practice MA alumna and Education Manager at The UK Crafts Council

Melise Djemal in the Art and Design Studio.

After many years working as a primary school teacher in various London schools, I wanted to critically explore the intersection of art, education, and culture, and the important ways they inform one another.

Sediments, Melise Djemal, 2023.

The MA Art Education, Culture and Practice was perfect for this. It gave me the theoretical framework and practical tools to reflect on and challenge traditional models of schooling I had experienced. Studying the MA part-time also allowed me to embed what I was learning in real time, and I particularly appreciated how each module informed and deepened my understanding of research.

Now What, Melise Djemal, 2023.

My dissertation research was pivotal in both shaping my academic development and my career direction. I used a practice-based research methodology to explore how schools shape identity, promote particular ideas of Britishness, and reflect ongoing colonial legacies. Through subsequent studio practice using printmaking and collage, incorporating family photographs and personal documents, I presented a range of personal and cultural references that have shaped my identity as a multicultural child raised in England, analysing the intersecting and sometimes conflicting narratives of British identity.

This research made me increasingly curious of the ways in which making, education, and cultural institutions can embed anti-racist and anti-elitist practices to challenge dominant legacies. This curiosity, and the desire to make meaningful change in education and the arts, led me to my new role as the Education Manager at the Crafts Council.

Lost everything but hope, Melise Djemal, 2023.

At the Crafts Council, I lead on ‘Craft School’, a nationwide challenge for learners from EYFS, primary, and secondary schools. The programme supports educators to embed craft and making into the curriculum with confidence and promotes possible career paths for everyone in the arts. For every iteration of Craft School, I work alongside ‘Maker Champions’ to develop a brief that enables learners to respond through hands-on exploration, using our learner-centred pedagogy, ‘Make First’. I support the development and delivery of the programme by producing practical toolkits for educators, delivering CPD sessions, and chairing forums that bring educators together to share insights, their practices and shape the future of craft education.

Key concepts and experiences from my time on the MA continue to shape my thinking and practice. The course also connected me with a wider network of artists, educators, and cultural practitioners, relationships that have informed both my professional path and personal practice. Without the critical research and practical exploration, I developed on the MA, I wouldn’t have had the tools or confidence to lead national programmes like Craft School.

The MA has been instrumental in shaping my evolving journey as an educator and cultural worker, helping me stay grounded in critical reflection and collaborative practice. (more…)