A visual culture learning community (VCLC) is an adolescent or young adult group engaged in expression and creation outside of formal institutions and without adult supervision. VCLCs are playgrounds for creativity that have a synergy of personal and professional growth and may support transitioning skills from a learning situation to real-life working conditions.  They are what schools tend not to be: places of authentic learning where learners act on intrinsic motivation in a democratic atmosphere of sharing.  The characteristic qualities of VCLCs that motivate and facilitate learning among their adolescent and young adult members are often at odds with classroom art instruction.  Auto-didactic learning, cooperative learning, and peer initiated learning are uncommon in K-12 and undergraduate classrooms. 

Most schools, with their large student populations, inflexible schedules, and limited access to outside experiences are not well-suited for authentic, situated practice.  VCLCs are based on situated rules of ethics and aesthetics (such as, copying is acceptable under certain conditions), leadership based on mentor knowledge and experience (rather than appointed authority), and accountability through group forms of assessment.

In the framework of an international, comparative research project executed between 2010-2014, members of a variety of eight self-initiated visual culture groups ranging from manga and cosplay through contemporary art forms, fanart video, graffiti, and cosplay in five urban areas (Amsterdam, Budapest, Chicago, Helsinki, and Hong Kong) were studied through interview, participant observation and analysis of art works. In this paper, collaborative group practices and processes in informal learning environments are presented through results of on-site observations, interviews and analyses of creations.

In this comparative educational study, we explored various outcomes of collaboration in the informal learning environments and creative practices of VCLCs in a variety of sites around the world. Our research demonstrates that collaboration is a critical foundation for art learning and production among adolescents and young adults. We also reveal how group practices in and around visual culture support the acquisition of life skills and social integration (Herne et al., 2013, Sclater et al., 2013). By adopting the collaborative strategies of VCLCs, teachers can use the site of the classroom to reclaim a sense of belonging (Wild, 2013).

We applied trialogical learning theory (Hakkarainen et al., 2007) to the collaborative processes of VCLCs to reveal aspects of the complex relationship of objects to learning. In the groups, Collaboration in the planning of and participation in object-oriented activities resulted in individual and collective transformation and knowledge-building.  In these contexts, objects become motivating mediators of learning.

VCLCs are models for positive social interdependence as they work towards shared goals in supportive auto-didactic and peer-directed learning environments, both on a local and a global scale. They provide skills that may be used in the transition from a VCLC to school and to the workplace. Competences are enhanced through identification with a group practice, just-in time learning of new skills and through group critiques of ideas and creative products. Successful collaboration in artistic creation fosters group members’ self-esteem and helps them achieve a variety of life goals.

Tensions and conflicts also characterise work of a creative community. Here, members learn how to negotiate interests and values, how to arrive at compromises that lead to the flow of knowledge, and innovative solutions to problems they set themselves. By working outside the framework of formal education, these groups show why the arts are crucial for personality development and reveal models of learning that can inspire the practice of art and design education in school. At the end of our presentation, applications of this study for formal art education are recommended.

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