Nature and Art – The Role of Nature in Hungarian Visual Culture Education since the 1990s, with a Focus on Post-2010 Curricular Reforms

The natural environment is closely connected to the visual arts: it may function not only as the subject of an artwork, but also as its medium, context, raw material, and even as a means of artistic creation (Brady, 2006; Egervári, 2022). Nature also possesses a performative quality that influences artistic processes, affecting the creator and shaping the conditions of creation; in this sense, it can become both the object of observation and the site of artistic practice (Căbuz, 2021). Within this framework, Nature Art offers a pedagogical approach that is particularly relevant to visual culture education, as it integrates aesthetic experience, experiential learning, and environmental awareness. This study examines the role of nature and nature-based artistic practices in Hungarian visual culture education and museum pedagogy since the 1990s. The research is based on a qualitative analysis of visual culture curricula, framework curricula, and teacher’s manuals, as well as museum education publications and relevant scholarly literature. It explores how Nature Art and related practices appear in formal and informal educational contexts, and how curricular changes following the political transition have shaped the pedagogical use of outdoor and nature-based activities. The analysis focuses on the pedagogical functions attributed to nature, including its role as a source of inspiration, as material and medium, as a site of artistic creation, and as a means of developing aesthetic perception and environmental awareness. At the same time, an increasing number of school and museum programmes demonstrate the pedagogical potential of Nature Art, which is applied from early childhood onwards and occupies an increasingly visible position within Hungarian educational discourse.