Essay on Playfulness and Play in Children’s Art Class: A Reflection Based on Winnicott

Abstract

From a survey of literature, this article presents some reflections about the value of play and playfulness as, respectively, an activity and a creative attitude of mind to be fostered in art education in children. Indeed, at the heart of any artistic creative impulse sits a playful attitude of the artist towards reality—a feature that has been highlighted by the psychoanalyst Winnicott. Following his line of thought, we propose that the art teacher must place the learner in a position of being able to play with her/him, in order to overlap their two areas of playing and establish a learning space. Playfulness and play tend to be confused with impulsive and disruptive behaviours and generally more tolerated at home then school. We claim that artistic activities in school should always be play-based and take place in a playful environment because art and creation emerge from and grow in and as play.