Guerrilla teaching and a DIY exhibitions: How an assault on comfort zones can engage and inspire

Abstract

This case study and video show the process and outcomes of a ‘flash’ briefing to a group of first-year Fashion Promotion students. The surprise collaborative task was presented to the students outside the comfort of their usual lab space and required them to likewise exhibit previously produced ‘zines’ in a space away from the host institution. With a view to helping students understand how sub-culture artefacts can be exhibited using low-cost, guerrilla marketing strategies, the lecturer drew on some of these same strategies to present the brief. Engagement and participation levels are demonstrably high and the final exhibition is an evident success; the whole experience, we argue, suggests that to challenge norms and to take such risks may well produce positive outcomes. Whilst we believe this case is potentially relevant to anyone interested in higher education pedagogy, the approach is likely to appeal immediately to anyone teaching subjects where promotion is fundamental as well as to those where marketing principles are elemental.