Transdisciplinarity and Art Integration: Toward a New Understanding of Art-Based Learning across the Curriculum

Art integration is a rich and complex approach to teaching and learning that not only aligns with new initiatives in education that prioritize conceptual and procedural skills but could also contribute to education’s transformation. Framing art integration as a transdisciplinary field with a distinct conceptual framework, epistemology, and practices provides a full account of art integration that practitioners and advocates alike may find useful for conceptualizing the field, promoting it in education, and developing it further. Moreover, viewing art integration through the lenses of Systems Theory and the New Sciences reveals its potential as a pedagogy of fusion and flow that could transform teaching and learning across the curriculum. One form of art integration, Art Research Integration (ARI), is presented here to illustrate the qualities of a transdisciplinary, Systems Thinking/New Sciences vision of art integration.