Abstract:  In a series of four art classes, children around the age of 10 creatively explored the themes of war and peace. They perceived and interpreted sensory experiences alongside their imaginative reflections. This approach opens up art education to unpredictability, creating heterotopic spaces that challenge and reshape worldviews as well as self‐perceptions. During these classes, the goal is to listen attentively for the echoes of unspoken thoughts, which may prompt expansions, transformations, or even reversals of perception. Descriptions, analyses, and interpretations remain fluid and airborne, emphasizing not only the visible and familiar, but also the semi‐visible, invisible, and aesthetically perceptible aspects. My aesthetic writing about these classes offers sensitive inquiries and responses that render a sensual perception of the world, others, and oneself palpable. Central to this exploration are the questions of how war and peace are perceived, experienced, and enacted. The answers reside in the unspoken echoes between what is sensed and what is imagined, aiming to make tangible the images created by the children participating in the process.

Keywords:  children; lived body; peace; practice‐based artistic research; war

Published:   19 November 2024

Issue:   Vol 12 (2024): Perceptions, Reflections, and Conceptualizations of War and Peace in Children’s Drawings