In 2020, people all over the world entered a new era of uncertainty. The global pandemic disrupted societal structures, resulting in a reassessment of priorities. While many, feeling anxious and paralyzed, expressed the urge to ‘return to normal’, there was also a growing realization that this disruption offered the potential for change on both the personal and societal levels.

That same anxiety was present in many of our collective classes during the MEiA Master programme. It became challenging to speculate on and consolidate research arguments in a context that was no longer fixed, where education looked and felt different than before the lockdown. The uncertain space in which one finds oneself in such situations is the liminal space. It often emerges when an unfamiliar element disturbs the existing conditions, and one is forced to make sense of how to proceed from there. The term stems from anthropology, denoting a transitory, disorienting space in which participants in a rite of passage transition from one mode of being to another. This phenomenon occurs when an old system no longer functions, but a new system has not yet been formed. It is a moment when change is possible, when creativity and progress can thrive.

Both art and education occupy a space of temporary ‘not-knowing’, which shapes and transforms the participant’s perspective. How can we use liminoid experiences to open up the emancipatory creative potential to enact personal and social change? Do education and art inform each other in this space, creating a richer understanding of the world?

In this research, I examine historical and present-day examples of liminality occurring in the public sphere, as well as personal experiences with group dynamics that arise while navigating the liminal space by means of exercises and group projects. I also use a variety of examples ranging from internet culture to art practices, particularly the performances of the German artist Joseph Beuys, to consider how these effectuate liminoid experiences, through which the spectator is guided and empowered. By gathering knowledge from these examples, I have formulated a toolbox using the notion of archetypes, with questions and exercises to navigate through the liminal.