Happy Mistakes: Art-based learning through failing

The author of this article is the Director of CreativeKids, an organisation offering chargeable workshops to children and young people in Hong Kong.  Fear of failure is one of the blocks to children’s thinking and can act as a barrier to learning (Fisher, 2005). Conversely, children’s curiosity can fuel exploration of possibilities. Art in particular can provide an environment and experience that encourages children to sketch out ideas, to paint without pain and to experiment without punishment. Children can take on more ambitious and riskier approaches to learning, instead of settling with mediocre success (Grammenos and Antona, 2018). In a learning climate where students’ and teachers’ relationships are secure, mistakes and failures are only natural consequences of problem-solving attempts. The idea of ‘Happy Mistakes’ was initiated over 10 years ago in a private art and design studio called CreativeKids that conducts after-school creativity classes in Hong Kong. T