For Imaginaries to Come: Critical Knowledge Production in Children’s Picturebooks

Application summary

“For Imaginaries to Come” brings together artistic practices, intersectional feminism, and counter-hegemonic theories to analyse existing children’s picturebooks, and generates decolonial methodologies in the creation of new publications. Positioned at the crossroads of critical art education, children’s pedagogy, and publishing, this project offers a unique platform for conceptualising and executing picturebooks specifically designed to challenge normative practices and foster collaboration between artist, children, and their families without requirements of expertise in Art. The project begins with open library workshops across Helsinki/Espoo—after which the final picturebook working group is formed. Picturebook creation is a tool for self-expression and storytelling, and collaborators are encouraged to delve into their lived experiences and intergenerational memories. The project’s democratic approach to art production transcends cultural and social boundaries, challenges the single artist/author paradigm, and focuses on plurality, multilingualism, and the transformative potential of making/reading picturebooks. The artistic work is supported by research that examines the historical contexts of picturebooks—exploring their (1) role in social and political struggles; (2) co-optation for authoritarian agendas; and (3) the persistence of avant-garde ideas that challenge genre boundaries and dominant narratives. To understand their social effects and conditions, I employ critical visual readings of contemporary picturebooks using multiple analytical approaches, such as ‘compositional interpretation,’ ‘semiology,’ ‘discourse analysis,’ and ‘audience studies.’ This 4-year PhD project fosters polycultural work, asserting Finland's unique multicultural context amidst a challenging political landscape. Through prefiguration—where ideals for the future and the means to achieve them align—this project shapes a more inclusive, imaginative future for being and doing together.