Artful Community Inquiry

This article, which explores a community filmmaking program for youth facing multiple barriers, presents a unique way of reimagining democratic practice through artful community inquiry that foregrounds entanglements of relations and engagements. In an era of constant change, increasing interdependence between local needs and global influences invites us to attend to the complex dynamics of individual and community needs. Community inquiry as a conceptual framework reimagines the community as curriculum—a way of actively engaging with the world. The concept of "transversality" acknowledges that learning is an educative force that disrupts binary forms of logic and layers of hierarchy, allowing us to traverse lines of entanglement when we navigate and negotiate collective engagement in communities. Insights from a youth filmmaking program show how "community as curriculum" and thinking transversally can enhance the vital role of artful community inquiry in promoting democratic practice by connecting learning with lived experience.