The Educational Turn in Contemporary Art and Critical Aesthetic Pedagogy: Rethinking the Theory of Aesthetic Education

The article presents the two phenomena observed in the space of art and education in 21st century, which may constitute the basis for rethinking and modernizing the theory of aesthetic education. The first is the educational turn in contemporary art, consisting in the use of pedagogical methods and forms by artists in their creative work. Education becomes not only the subject of contemporary artistic projects, but above all, an artistic practice, the foundations of which were taken from radical pedagogy. The second element important for rethinking the theory of aesthetic education is the perspective of critical pedagogy. The article briefly presents Yolanda Medina’s Critical Aesthetic Pedagogy, which tries to combine aesthetic pedagogy with a critical approach in the context of self and social empowerment. New ways of intertwining the spheres of art and education in the 21st century may be an opportunity to renew and modernize both the practice and theory of aesthetic education, and to strengthen the aesthetic education approach in Polish pedagogy.