Thirty Years of P4C: #1 Caitlin, P4C and publicly engaged art

Caitlin is one half of Webb-Ellis, British/Canadian artists and filmmakers, whose use of film, dance, music and installation creates imaginative political work and asks questions that engage mind and body.

Caitlin was a sixth former at Whitby Community College (now Caedmon College) in North Yorkshire when teachers from her English Department, among them her mum Geraldine Malone, undertook SAPERE training and started to bring philosophy into their teaching.

Speaking about that time, Caitlin says: “Of all the things I did at school I now realise that the Friday lunchtime philosophy club had the biggest impact on what I would eventually do with my life.

For me, being a contemporary artist filmmaker is so much about ideas and finding meaning in a world which doesn’t always make sense. Even though I enjoyed lots of subjects at school I struggled to connect the dots – P4C gave me a way of thinking which made everything else feel more relevant and interesting.

Around the time that philosophy club began, I lost a good friend from my year group – this brought with it so many big questions, and having a space to share and explore them was incredibly helpful. Being a teenager can be isolating and I also found that the enquiries gave me an insight into the thoughts and feelings of other young people, which made me feel more connected and less lonely.”

In 2019 Caitlin undertook SAPERE training to be able to facilitate P4C and around that time, along with her partner Anj, she began a long-term collaboration with Thinking Space, working with Grace Lockrobin, who is now SAPERE’s Director of P4C. This collaboration made a lasting impression on both Caitlin and Grace’s practice and led to new creative work with children and young people throughout the UK, which explored nature, adventure and the future, combining philosophical enquiry, radical listening, dance, movement, and filmmaking.

Caitlin says: “Now I use the methods of thinking, listening and talking together as a foundational part of my artist filmmaking with both young people and adults in educational settings and beyond. I enjoy seeing how seeds planted so many years ago flower in the most wonderful and unexpected ways.”

Caitlin’s story is one of the stories we are telling in 2022, to celebrate #30YearsofP4C.