Season 3 - Ep. 3 Louisa Penfold - ArtLab as third teacher

Works in Progress Season 3 Ep 3– Episode: Every Child is an Artist with Dr. Louisa Penfold

In this episode of Works in Progress, ArtLab Director Bree Edwards talks with Dr. Louisa Penfold, Faculty Co-Chair of Arts and Learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and faculty resident at the ArtLab during 2022 and 2025.

Dr. Penfold is the project director of Project Zero’s Art/Play, an NEA-funded study exploring how modern and contemporary art practices can be integrated into public schools. This groundbreaking project brings together partners from the Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood, the Smithsonian Learning Lab, MoMA, and the Harvard Art Museums to reimagine how children and teachers learn through creative engagement, curriculum design, and professional development.

During her ArtLab residency, Louisa has led numerous hands-on studio workshops where students from the Graduate School of Education have explored New Materialism as a framework for enhancing creative learning and research.

Bree and Louisa also discuss Louisa’s new book, Every Child is an Artist, a guide for parents of young children that bridges her interdisciplinary work in contemporary art, early childhood education, and play.

Listen in to learn how Dr. Penfold’s research and practice inspire new ways of thinking about creativity, learning, and the role of art in education.

https://louisapenfold.com/

Thanks for joining us for Works in Progress. We hope these conversations give you a glimpse into the creativity, collaboration, and experimentation happening at ArtLab. To learn more, visit artlab.harvard.edu.

The podcast is recorded in the Mead Production Lab at the ArtLab in Boston, Massachusetts.

Hosted by Bree Edwards
Audio by Luke Damroch
Production by Kat Nakaji
Research by Sadie Trichler & Ria Cuéllar-Koh

Design by James Blue & Sonia Ralston

Transcript

[INTRO MUSIC PLAYING] 

BREE EDWARDS 

Hello and thank you for joining me for Works in Progress.  

I'm Bree Edwards, director of the ArtLab at Harvard, a place where artists, students, and scholars come together to explore, experiment, and create new work.  

The ArtLab is a special initiative of Harvard's Office of the President and Provost, supporting creative research and development across disciplines.  

In this podcast, we go behind the scenes to hear from artists as they grapple with big questions and transform their ideas into art.  

BREE 

Today, we're joined by Dr. Louisa Penfold, faculty co-chair of Arts and Learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Louisa is also faculty in residence at the Art Lab, where she designs and facilitates art-making workshops with her graduate students.  

Dr. Penfold is the Project Director of Project Zero's Art Play, an NEA-funded study on integrating modern and contemporary art practices into public schools. Run as a partnership between the Department of Early Education at Boston Public Schools, the Smithsonian Learning Lab, MoMA, and the Harvard Art Museum, Art Play explores how contemporary art practices can support the learning of children and teachers through curriculum design and professional development. 

Louisa's upcoming book, Every Child is an Artist, is aimed at parents of young children. Set to be released this year, the book offers practical examples and insights on how and why to introduce children to art, both at home and in cultural institutions. 

Welcome, Louisa. 

LOUISA PENFOLD 

Thank you so much for having me. 

BREE 

Sure thing. First of all, congratulations. Your book, Every Child Is an Artist, is coming out really soon with Workman Publishing. 

The text, I believe, is aimed at parents of young children and it integrates your interdisciplinary work in contemporary art and early childhood and play. I imagine this has been a really rich and exciting endeavor.  

What are you most excited about? 

LOUISA 

I'm really excited about connecting with families through this project and I've spent a lot of my career so far working with teachers, working with graduate students. 

And so, in a way, it's kind of like a coming back to the start of my career when I was working in museums, designing play spaces for kids, and working really closely with parents and carers.  

I'm so excited to be reconnecting with that audience and thinking about what all these big ideas and theories around material play, play-based learning mean for children around the world and how it kind of looks. 

BREE 

That's great. It's really exciting. Can you tell us a bit more about the book that's coming out soon? 

LOUISA 

Yeah, so the book is a trade book. It's a commercial book that's really directed at the public, at parents and caregivers. And it's all about cultivating young children's creativity through contemporary art and play. It builds off many different aspects of my career. 

I actually started off after I did my master's in Australia designing and curating play spaces for kids at a modern art museum in Queensland in Australia. And then I moved over to London and I did my PhD in the learning department at Tate. 

That work looked at how different modern and contemporary artists explore materials and how we can look at that kind of experimentation with tools, concepts, the fabrication of new materials within themselves and use that to design learning environments where children learn through interaction and play with materials. 

And so the book is really like the kind of practical output of like all of that research. And all of that kind of like framework of thinking about how we kind of facilitate those connections, how we integrate young children's voices into the decisions that adults make on behalf of them in cultural organizations.  

But it's written in a way that's like just completely practical. Like, you know, it's nine different chapters and each chapter looks at a different material. So it starts with like clay and—sorry—cardboard and paper, and then it's clay and dough, paint, sound, performance in the body, textiles, and looks at different ways that contemporary artists have explored those materials and then kind of like how we can look at that experimentation and then take that to set up different like activities at home where children can learn through, and play with materials and adults can play alongside them, which I think is also really important. 

But yeah, I'm really excited to see where it goes. I'm excited it will have a worldwide release. I hope that through it coming into the world, that I'll be able to connect with more children and families and just, you know, we can enter into this conversation and thinking together around what role contemporary art and play can have in children's learning and development. 

BREE 

It sounds fantastic.  

I'm really excited that we're going to have an event here at the ArtLab that is really our first event designed for families, where you're going to sort of tease the book because it's not yet out, but people get to have a preview and also you'll design hands-on workshops that people can participate in with your students.  

And as you're describing the book, it in some ways makes me think a lot about the syllabi that you design. Could you just walk us through how you put together your curriculum? 

LOUISA 

Well, I'm really interested in how we connect theory and practice and how they can like expand one another. So the way in which I design my curriculum, for example, in my class, Contemporary Art in Early Childhood, we have a weekly, like one hour theoretical workshop where we really dig into different ideas around loose parts play, new materialism, how do we evaluate and assess children's creativity. We look at different artists and cultural organizations around the world who have made significant investments in designing play spaces for kids. Then every Tuesday we meet for our two hour studio workshop, and in that we really focus on looking at different contemporary artists.  

We look at the different materials and it's really a time for the students to make and play with the materials and then think about how they would take all of that and design a learning space for children. So we have this, like, I guess, tool that we use called the curating play space template, which was developed out of my PhD research. And they use that to think about how they would integrate different concepts, tools, techniques, different play prompts to facilitate children's creativity over time. It's something that they could then apply to like a classroom setting as, like, a class plan. They could apply it to the design of a children's space in an art museum but I do actually think that, like, educators are ultimately curators in the sense that they are constantly thinking about how they set up their conditions for learning, and I think there's a real art to that. 

And so my students become very familiar with that process of like looking at different artworks, looking at the experimentation that contemporary artists do and thinking about how we can then pull threads from that and set up the conditions for children's creative learning through material play. 

BREE 

The concept of play is so central to your inquiry and your teaching. It could be considered an unexpected area of academic study to some. What is so critical about play and why does it deserve a deeper study? 

LOUISA 

So to me, play is really closely, almost synonymous with the creative process. So it's a state of, like, kind of social, emotional, cognitive, embodied like interactions that happen in which an individual is able to recombine things that may already be in existence in different ways to produce something new. I think a trend that we've seen in schooling systems around the world is that there's been such a heavy focus on standardized testing and the use of standardized curriculum and testing in literacy and numeracy, and then these are like assessments that are looking for learning outcomes instead of like the creative learning process or the critical thinking process that children go through to arrive at different conclusions. 

And so to me, by centering play in young children's lives, it's a way to kind of like take a stance against that really like dominant trend in the schooling system, and to be thinking about ways that we can cultivate learning experiences for children that are meaningful, that are joyful, that give children agency. And I'm talking about this in terms of young children now, but I think it's something that actually needs to be continued throughout the lifespan, like through teenagers into adulthood, graduate students, adults, seniors—we all need as much play as possible in our lives. 

BREE 

Are there other words that are used besides play to get to these same ideas? 

LOUISA 

Yeah, I think it's really interesting that sometimes, like, a phenomena can happen in the world and people will use different language or different concepts to describe that. For example, when I think of an artist in a studio, so an artist in a woodworking studio who is playing and interacting with different materials, who's combining ideas and emotions in new ways, that kind of creative flow that they enter into, I think is like essentially very, very similar, if not the exact same thing as to what you would see like a child entering into in like, a playground or a sandpit or like playing on the beach where they're connecting different materials in new ways. They're connecting new ideas, emotions to create this like wonderful, joyful learning moment and something that is like really meaningful to them.  

So, I think creativity and play and like and learning these or inquiry-based learning are all very similar terms to describe this phenomena. 

BREE 

Yeah. What is the significance or the importance of introducing play or art making in teaching? And I'm just thinking whether it be your graduate students here at Harvard or the work that you do in Boston Public Schools at the elementary level or even in the studio, going to family spaces within museums. 

LOUISA 

Yeah, what’s around adults? It’s a really good question. 

I truly believe that in order to ensure that children have access to playful learning experiences, that actually starts with adults and the adults in their lives who are going to be advocating for their kids. So whether that's a teacher, a parent, a grandparent, a carer, a neighbor, whatever.  

And so the way that I approach teaching my classes at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the way that I approach running professional development with teachers and working with parents is making sure that they are given ample opportunity to play themselves first. And so I'm playing, interact with a range of different materials and experience and remember what it is like to be an artist and to create without the pressure of things looking perfect and to, ask questions and experiment and, to follow the learning journey without knowing exactly where it's going to take you. 

I think that all of those things really start with the adults that surround children. And it's really important that adults also make time to play for themselves, but also so that they are then prioritizing that in their children's lives.  

I was fortunate enough to grow up with a mother who was a public school teacher and she taught textiles and home economics, so textile shave always been a really big part of my life. And really in the pandemic, I kind of got into it in a whole new way. I love doing, like, knitting and quilting. I'm part of a wonderful network here in Cambridge called the Cambridge Modern Quilting Guild—amazing humans as part of that through a bit, it's because I think a big piece of this sustaining playful creative inquiry as adults is through making the connections and having a network and a place to go to like make these things.  

And a lot of this stuff is grassroots. It's just like groups of women or group, you know, coming together and forming these networks. But that's been like a really big, I guess, kind of catalyst for me in sustaining my creative textile practice as an adult. But I do think as well, like adults can play in many different ways. Like you can play in the kitchen, like you can, for I look at my dad and he does a lot of like DIY work. I feel like in some weird ways he's got that playful mindset when he's doing that. And yeah, I think there's many different, like, mediums or modalities that people use to engage in, like, playful creative learning. But it kind of looks different for different people. 

BREE 

And one of the things, I mean, unfortunately, people that are listening are not able to see, but one of the joys that I have is observing the classes that you create, these special hands-on workshops that you create here for your students at the ArtLab. 

And you've been working with us for a number of years—three or four years—I mean, almost since the time that we opened. And so people can't see this kind of colorful environment, tactile materials. It’s really energetic. You have music on. People are working in teams, they’re working in groups. But I’m hopeful that you can describe it a little bit, but I'm also very curious about why you've reached out to the ArtLab to have these workshops here. 

How is it different to have this kind of space than the traditional classroom? 

LOUISA 

Yeah, the practice of art and the practice of education is, like, the way that I think about it is so hands-on. We learn through doing. Research is a process of making and experimenting. So in order to have the conditions that allow students to do that, like they need access to different materials and they need access to space. 

And so something that I really appreciate about coming to the Art Lab is having like, I guess, an architectural space that is so flexible that it can be adapted to the different, like really diverse setups that we need for different materials. What we see in a lot of schools is like classrooms that have fixed tables and chairs and the whiteboard and computers.  

What that means is that children and young people and adults are like, they're learning through in a very particular way that kind of separates their brain from their bodies. And I think that's really unfortunate because, the body is like a full sensory system. And for thousands of years, humans have learned through embodied ways of living and knowing and being like, when you look back, for example, indigenous communities, you see that knowledge was shared through dancing and gathering and hunting and all of these things that they did, through hands-on activities together in groups of people, like collaborative learning. 

But now we have these schooling systems that encourage people to learn just by sitting and also like these highly individualized tests that are assessing like individual learning outcomes instead of like, how people actually work in the workplace, which is through interacting with teams and collaborating and negotiating and strategizing collectively.  

So to me, it's about setting up having access to a learning environment that allows for  embodied learning to happen that allows students to have plain interaction with like a wide array of any sort of material and allows us to have the flexibility in, like, shifting the space to meet the needs of the students. 

I mean, in early childhood education, there is an approach that is widely used called Reggio Emilia early childhood approach. They talk about the environment as third teacher. So, you know, when I look at the ArtLab, I can see how the space itself is a third teacher. The 1st and 2nd teachers being like an individual's peers or an individual's adults that around that surround them, but the other one being the space. And I think that's really, really important to think about. 

BREE 

Well, one of the things that I have noticed is that you really use the Harvard campus to its most. You find all of these isolated, siloed centers and spaces for creativity, and you bring your students to it, and you expose them to it. You do workshop there. I really admire that about you.  

I'm glad that you found us at the ArtLab right when we were first starting, but I really appreciate how you use the university as a kind of resource for your teaching. 

LOUSIA 

Yes. We’re so fortunate here. 

We're so grateful to the ArtLab and we're also really grateful to the Harvard Art Museums and their materials lab because through running some of the classes there, you know, we can go in and see the artworks in person, which is I think is a really special thing because that collection is incredible. 

It's like a mini MOMA over there. So that's also a wonderful resource for teaching and learning as well. Finding your people and finding the resources can definitely feel a bit like an archaeological process at points.  

BREE 

Yeah. 

LOUISA 

But you just tell people, you’re like, “hey, this is what I want to do, what do you think?”  

And then often they will like direct you, know, oh, you should go and speak to that person.  And I think that's how we find one another. 

BREE 

Yeah, and I think that's also great modeling for your students who will become teachers and have to get really resourceful about finding their people wherever they end up. So it’s a great model. 

There’s a little bit of time. I wanted to just give you the opportunity—you have so many great resources online, websites, tools for parents, educators, to sort of shout out those resources, and again, to say the title of your upcoming book. 

LOUSIA 

Yeah. Okay, so I do have my blog, which is Art Play Children Learning, or you can find it at louisapenfold.com. And on it, that has lots of free activities that you can download. It has like downloadable resources, different ideas for family field trips that you can do. So I think that isdefinitely one place that you can look. 

I mean, I also get a lot of inspiration from, I guess, visiting museums and just going out to different arts events in the community and seeing these amazing things that artists do and then constantly thinking about, okay, but what does this mean to like the four-year-old in Roxbury? How could you like pull different threads from this experimentation and to set something up on a budget of $5 that a group of kids could play with. I find that kind of intellectual challenge really, really interesting. 

So yeah, museums definitely, I feel like, and on social media, like seeing the different things that artists do, I find that incredibly inspiring.  

And so, I'm really excited about the release of the book because that will also be another tool that parents can draw on to think about these ideas and practices and what they mean for them. And so the title is Every Child is an Artist, a Parent's Guide to Cultivating Children's Creativity through Contemporary Art. It will be published in 2026 with Workman Publishing. 

BREE 

Thank you. We’ll put notes in the show notes too.  

One of the things that I also really love is that you invite in local practicing artists to speak to your students, to have them sort of communicate what their practice is to help kind of unpack maybe what sound art is or what performance art is to make it very accessible for your students. 

LOUSIA 

Yeah, definitely. I mean, we are so fortunate here in Boston to have all these amazing local artists. We have like people coming in from around the world who have all different ideas around, art and creativity and learning processes. It is really wonderful to bring, I think there is, it's a really powerful learning experience for the students to actually hear directly from the artists. And I think as well for teachers, they love it as well. 

It brings the materials to life in new ways when you see the kind of passion and expertise that a practicing artist brings. And I think that you can't help that it has a contagious flow. 

BREE 

Yeah, it really aligns with what we do here of like helping people understand what artistic process is and what inspires artists and why they make the work they do and how they do it. So I really always enjoy when your classes come through.  

Thank so much. Thank you for talking with me today.  

LOUISA 

Of course. Thank you for all you do. 

BREE  

Thanks for joining me for this episode of Works in Progress. We hope these conversations give you a glimpse into the creativity and experimentation happening here. To learn more, visit artlab.harvard.edu.  

This episode was recorded at the Mead Production Lab at the ArtLab in Boston, Massachusetts, with audio by Luke Yamrash, production by Kat Nikaji, research by Sadie Trichler, designed by James Blue, and I am your host, Bree Edwards.