This study aimed to elucidate the processes and structures of collaborative learning within an art project involving mothers as co-creators.

Research Subject

The research focused on two subjects: the art project Dismantling Motherhood (co-organized with artist Natsumi Sakamoto), which consists of a series of workshops and reflective activities with six publicly recruited participants who are currently raising children (hereafter “members”), and the screening of Sakamoto’s films.

Method

The study employed Arts-Based Research (ABR). Data was generated through artistic exploration beginning with the viewing of artworks that emerged from the collaborative process of the art project. Learners’ transformations were analyzed through the lens of feminist pedagogy, which emphasizes both structural and internalized forms of sexism and oppression.

Activities

① Viewing a group exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, featuring works created by the artist through the project and zines produced by the members (two visits with members in June 2025).

②A collective reflection session on the viewing experience (July, one online session with Sakamoto and the members).

③Documentation of the reflection by the members (August–October).

④Planning and hosting of a screening event with the members (September–November).

⑤A film screening and reflection with third-party participants at Hibarigaoka Community Center (March 2026; 22 participants for the screening, 9 for the workshop). A pilot workshop was also conducted at the Tokyo National Museum (January 19 and February 26–27, 2026; 9 participants).

Results

From the perspective of feminist pedagogy, the study examined a collective learning experience composed of two types of learners:

A. Members directly participating in the project (①–④)

B. New learners encountering the project for the first time through artworks or zines (⑤)

For Group A, viewing the exhibition in a museum visited by a large and unspecified public (over 13,000 visitors) served as a catalyst for members to become active agents—producing reflective documentation and collaborating in organizing the screening event. For Group B, participants re-experienced the project’s process through Sakamoto’s video works and responded to the same questions posed to the members. Their dialogues were compiled into written records and shared with both the new learners and the members. This exchange revealed a form of “reciprocal gifting” between the members—who were not physically present—and these new learners.

Conclusion

The study successfully achieved its aim. Future research will focus on how to collaboratively create a safe learning space when participants join who do not share positionalities (intersectional oppressions), such as motherhood.