Young Artists Confronting Wartime — An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experience of Participation in an Art Competition

Objectives The aim of the research is to try to broaden understanding of the meanings that young artists attribute to their experience of participating in an art competition. Material and methods In-depth interviews were conducted with young artists awarded in a competition. Transcriptions of the interviews were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. This approach was deemed the most appropriate to look at the personal experiences of the young artists and examine the way they give meaning to their lives and the world around them. Results The results indicate that participation in the competition was meaningful for the young artists in many dimensions. It provided an opportunity for exploration, experimentation, making choices and taking responsibility for them, both in the realm of artistic craftsmanship and in the formation of identity, and building the world of one's life. Participation in the competition provided an opportunity for active and reflective action and an intense experience of community, collaboration and agency. Conclusions The conceptual framework, which enables, at the stage of interpretation, the disclosure and ordering of meanings and the rendering of the individual and the universal, was Bruner's concept of development-supporting education, which was placed in the context of a pedagogy of peace. The analysis of a fragment of school praxis revealed the everyday life we would expect from an educational institution. This micro-image of an alternative vision of the school where the individual can have a learning experience is a viable example. Important recommendations include the suggestion of promoting student tasks that break stereotypes and release the joy of working on oneself, in the context of using the resources and potential of the wider culture.