Name: Seeing Without Seeing – Visual Imaginaries in Craft Learning
Start: 2026-10-08T14:30:00-0400
End: 2026-10-08T15:00:00-0400

Seeing Without Seeing – Visual Imaginaries in Craft Learning

Thursday October 8, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT

Studio

Craftsmakers’ understanding and knowledge are shaped through a complex weave of material, action, and communication. In the encounter with the possibilities and limitations of materials, in conversation with others, and through personal experience, imaginaries emerge that guide the making process (Andersson & Johansson, 2017). The development of becoming knowledgeable, skilled, and artistically accomplished differs from one individual to another, but is often marked by encounters with a more experienced practitioner. Within craft traditions, this encounter has been described as a narrative in which the more knowledgeable practitioner conveys their knowledge through action and language (Nielsen & Kvale, 1999). This narrative carries traces of the knowledge of previous generations and makes it possible to understand making across time. At the same time, a form of visual imaginary is created in the learner, where what is described is transformed into an inner image within a personal space of learning (Jernström, 2000). This interview study is based on an expanded understanding of visual representations, in which mental images and imaginaries are also seen as part of how visual meaning-making takes place in learning processes. The study examines how practicing craft teachers and craftspeople perceive the formation of such inner visual representations and the significance they have for learning in craft practices. Particular attention is given to the difference between imagining an action through description and experiencing it through direct visual observation. Interpreting and understanding visual expressions—whether mental or concrete—requires a prior understanding that influences how knowledge is developed (Andersson, 2021). By analyzing craft learning as a process in which visual imaginaries are created, negotiated, and reinterpreted, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how images—even those that are not materially visible—function as carriers of knowledge and memory in learning process.

Speakers

Joakim Andersson

Senior Lecturer, HDK-Valand, University of Gothenburg

I hold a PhD in Educational Work and am a Senior Lecturer in Aesthetic Forms of Expression with a focus on Educational Sciences. My research examines communication and teaching in sloyd (craft education) as pedagogical and didactic tools, with particular attention to how students... Read More →

Elena Raviola

Professor in Design Management and Director of the Business and Design Lab at the University of Gothenburg., HDK-Valand

Elena Raviola is Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Professor in Design Management and Director of the Business and Design Lab at the University of Gothenburg. She studies how digital technologies transform professional work, particularly in cultural and creative fields, and, ultimately, how human dis... Read More →

Thursday October 8, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
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IVLA 2026 Charleston

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Elena Raviola

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IVLA 2026 Charleston

Joakim Andersson

Elena Raviola

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