Endnotes 1 The term "wicked problem" was first coined by Horst Rittel, design theorist and professor of design methodology at the Ulm School of Design, Germany. Typically, these problems involve a cultural or social problem that is difficult or impossible to solve. Many designers and activist believe that the best way to tackle such issues, not necessarily to solve them, is with a collaborative or interdisciplinary approach. 2 Visual essays normally integrate image and text in a creative way to document, evaluate or reflect on art-based research, learning, activities or events or projects.

The article presents a qualitative study of the contribution of arts and crafts (AC) in an interdisciplinary teaching project on marine litter in Norway. We explain how the subject AC may contribute in education for sustainable development beyond com­petence goals described in the new Norwegian curriculum “Fagfornyelsen” (LK20), where the focus is on technological competence and knowledge of materials, recycling and product development. The empirical data consist of notes from participatory observation and visual expressions from students in grades 5–10. We used the Visual Art Based Participatory Method to analyse the material. The results indicate that creative and making processes in AC are important in giving students the opportunity to express and process their feelings about difficult dilemmas, and this seems to be an important contribution to increase students’ understanding, commitment and action competence for sustainable development. Through Eco Art, students contributed to the societal debate and gained insight into society’s conflicts of interest. We believe that physical learning opportunities and the affective element in AC is under-communicated in LK20, but that it is crucial for students’ motivation to learn and act for a sustainable future. With this article we hope to open a discussion in the field about AC’s role in education for sustainable development.

Målet med det arktiske samarbeidsprosjektet ‘Living in the landscape’ (LiLa) er å samle studenter og forsk­­ere fra ulike fagområder for å utvikle estetiske læreprosesser gjennom kultur-sensitiv og bærekraftig forskning på sosiokulturelle landskap i den europeisk-arktiske regionen. Covid 19 medførte at prosjektet i stedet for et fysisk møte i et felles landskap ble endret til en Online Spring School. Deltakerne produserte kunstneriske uttrykk som ble presentert i en online utstilling, i tillegg til visuelle essay. Med utgangspunkt i forfatternes fem essay med fokus på lokale tradisjoner med ull, starr og dun vil vi vise hvordan en felles forståelse for landskapets mangefasetterte betydning kunne utvikle seg i et online fellesskap på tvers av fagområder og kulturelle forskjeller. Våre norske bidrag eksemplifiserer hvordan det er mulig å formidle kunnskap om tradisjoner, kultur og identitet i et digitalt kulturfellesskap.

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