Curriculum revision projects, such as the current revision of the secondary school (Gymnasium) basis curriculum 2020-22 in Switzerland, call for a review of the content and objectives of the individual subjects and provide an opportunity to reflect on the knowledge within a subject, and the way it changes. How can such change be conceived and how can it be oriented if intended to go beyond the pragmatic framework of an educational policy-motivated revision project, which is characterized by scarce time resources and acute pressure to act? The article builds on Michel Foucault’s ontology of the present and seeks, via according educational-philosophical considerations, a perspective on change that positions itself both critically and self-reflexively; that is not oriented to what are diagnosed to be the great challenges of the future, but engages with what is already present and appears in everyday life. A possibility to grasp and reflect on existing art education knowledge is created. A footnote by Margot Zanni and a questionnaire by Michèle Novak expand the text, rooting the gesture of (self-)critical reflection in the act reading.