John Johnston
John Johnston is a lecturer on the MA Artist Teachers and Contemporary Practices, MA in Education: Culture, Language and Identity and the PGCE Secondary Art and Design course at Goldsmiths. He is an established Artist/Educator recognised in national and international level. His work is focussed on issues related to Social Justice, Human Rights, and Development. His main interests lie in how art can be utilised as a tool for learning and interface with key areas of society to foster attitude change and greater understanding of the world we live in. The main themes of his work are: Identity, Politics, Conflict Transformation and Social Cohesion. John has developed projects focused on young people in both formal and informal educational settings. He has also produced works in collaboration with political leaderships from a variety of contexts including the Balkans, Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Some of his art projects have brought him into direct contact with political prisoners and ex-combatants in Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
His most recent work, inaugurated in April 2009, is a mural that transformed a peace wall in West Belfast. It is part of the project “If Walls Could Talk” by the Arts and Tourism unit based in the Greater Shankill Partnership in Belfast.
Publications, Popular Education Journals/Resources
Currently in process: Art in Development (80:20)
Art in Contentious Spaces in Social and Critical Practice in Art Education (Dennis Atkinson and Paul Dash, Editors) Trentham Books, 2005
80:20 ‘The organisation, the ideas, the work, the people, the issues, the vision: Challenging Traditions in Northern Ireland – Being British, Race and Identity 2007
Troubled Image: Wall murals, Moving forward – Activist processes explored. Section within 80:20 ‘Our Work’ 2005
The Millennium Development Goals, 80:20 development in an unequal world, 5th Edition . Bertrand Borg & John Johnston
Exploring Identity through art education (Teachers Resource) 2004
Genocide, Learning from Rwanda: Teachers resource 2004
Let’s Talk: Youth political awareness resource (sharing practice) 2003
Conferences/Workshops
Goldsmiths, University of London, jointly sponsored by the Centre for the Arts and Learning and Centre for Language, Culture and Learning, “Art, Language, Multimodality and Space: Linguistic Landscape in Schools and Commnunity”, 2009
Goldsmiths, University of London, Centre for the Arts and Learning, ‘John Johnston: Review of Practice’ 2008
Balkan Human Rights Summer Conference, Dubrovnik: Exploring regional identities through Art Education 2007
University of Ulster UNESCO Centre Coleraine: Peace and Reconciliation through Art in Schools (sharing practice) 2007
Creative Youth Project Conference Creativity ‘Inside Out’ – Waterfront Hall Belfast: ‘Warina’ identity – Debunking the Myth (Sharing Practice) 2006
North Eastern Education and Library Board: Exploring Identities through Art in Education (sharing practice) 2006
Ireland Representative on Education Committee, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network 2005-06
Northern Ireland Artist Representative at the Venice Biennale 2005
Guernica Art and Peace Conference: Power of Art – Art as a tool for change 2005 Teachers in Development Education (TIDE) Conference Birmingham: Millennium Development Goals – Public Education through Art (sharing Practice) 2005
Loreto Schools Network Ireland: Social Justice through Art – ‘Consume’ Art through Social Justice 2005
University of Ulster UNESCO Centre Coleraine: Global Education through Art (sharing practice) 2004
Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) Party Conference Belfast: Addressing the Impact of Images of Violence on Young People (Political Murals) 2004
North of England Teachers Conference, Belfast: Finding Arts role in divided societies 2004
Artist and Divided Societies, Paper presented at the Artist as Researcher Conference, Goldsmiths, 2003
Budapest European Youth Council – Youth and Violence: Par-military Punishment and Community Restorative Justice - a study from West Belfast (sharing practice) 2002
Northampton Teachers Conference: Issues Based Curriculum, Theories and Practice (sharing practice, 1998
Drumcroon Arts Centre Wigan: Exploring Identities through Art in Education (sharing practice), 1997
London Teachers Conference: Issues Based Art and the National Curriculum (sharing practice), 1996
LAADE British Museum: Using historical artefacts to explore contemporary issues, 1994