The 8th Art Education Conference, hosted by the Hungarian Dance University as part of its 75th anniversary celebration, brought together over 240 participants on May 29–30, for two dynamic days of lectures, workshops, and discussion panels. The event focused on innovation in arts education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthening both national and international networks in the field.
The conference opened with two keynote lectures. Professor Anne Bamford (UK) explored how the arts foster global creative thinking by enhancing imagination, innovation, and critical reflection, while Hanna Pohjola (Finland) highlighted the role of performative dance in supporting mental and physical well-being in life-altering situations such as depression, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke recovery.
A highlight of the second day was the keynote by Eric Franklin, founder of the Franklin Method®. In his lecture, “Dynamic Mental Imagery in Dance Education,” Franklin demonstrated how visualization and anatomical awareness enhance dance technique and injury prevention. He also led two engaging workshops — one tailored to ballet instructors and another to arts educators — introducing his somatic, experience-based approach to movement learning.
The conference also featured a vibrant roundtable on arts and Artificial Intelligence (AI), where Hungarian artists and scholars debated AI’s role in creative processes and education. Ethical questions, opportunities, and future responsibilities of educators in shaping AI use were central to the discussion.
The event concluded with a live folk dance session led by university student Bence Plaszkó, accompanied by traditional music on rare instruments — a joyful and fitting close to a conference that celebrated tradition, innovation, and human potential through the arts.
