With a focus on socially engaged art practices in the twenty-first century, this book explores how artists use their creative practices to raise consciousness, form communities, create change, and bring forth social impact through new technologies and digital practices. Suzanne Lacy’s Foreword and section introduction authors Anne Balsamo, Harrell Fletcher, Natalie Loveless, Karen Moss, and Stephanie Rothenberg present twenty-five in-depth case studies by established and emerging contemporary artists including Kim Abeles, Christopher Blay, Joseph DeLappe, Mary Beth Heffernan, Chris Johnson, Rebekah Modrak, Praba Pilar, Tabita Rezaire, Sylvain Souklaye, and collaborators Victoria Vesna and Siddharth Ramakrishnan. Artists offer firsthand insight into how they activate methods used in socially engaged art projects from the twentieth century and incorporated new technologies to create twenty-first century, socially engaged, digital art practices. Works highlighted in this book span collaborative image-making, immersive experiences, telematic art, time machines, artificial intelligence, and physical computing. These reflective case studies reveal how the artists collaborate with participants and communities, and have found ways to expand, transform, reimagine, and create new platforms for meaningful exchange in both physical and virtual spaces. An invaluable resource for students and scholars of art, technology, and new media, as well as artists interested in exploring these intersections.

"Most philosophers of art of the modern period have concentrated their attention on engaging works of the arts as objects of disinterested aesthetic attention, and on the works that reward that modern of engagement, virtually ignoring the many other ways in which we engage works of the arts. The argument of this book is that it is important for philosophers to expand their attention and discuss as well the more important of those other ways in which we engage works of the arts. After discussing in some detail the main reason why philosophers have not done this, and explaining why this reason should be rejected, the book presents a conceptual framework for discussing the many ways in which we engage works of the arts. The book then employs this framework to discuss, in detail, memorial art, art for veneration, social protest art, work songs, and a recent development in high art, art-reflexive art. The book closes with some reflections on the role of beauty and justice in art in general."--Publisher's description.

Education for Socially Engaged Art is the first 'Materials and Techniques' book for the emerging field of social practice. Written with a pragmatic, hands-on approach for university-level readers and those interested in real-life application of the theories and ideas around socially engaged art. The book, emphasizing the use of pedagogical strategies to address issues around social practice, addresses topics such as documentation, community engagement, dialogue and conversation, amongst many others.

"Art as Social Action . . . is an essential guide to deepening social art practices and teaching them to students." —Laura Raicovich, president and executive director, Queens Museum Art as Social Action is both a general introduction to and an illustrated, practical textbook for the field of social practice, an art medium that has been gaining popularity in the public sphere. With content arranged thematically around such topics as direct action, alternative organizing, urban imaginaries, anti-bias work, and collective learning, among others, Art as Social Action is a comprehensive manual for teachers about how to teach art as social practice. Along with a series of introductions by leading social practice artists in the field, valuable lesson plans offer examples of pedagogical projects for instructors at both college and high school levels with contributions written by prominent social practice artists, teachers, and thinkers, including: Mary Jane Jacob Maureen Connor Brian Rosa Pablo Helguera Jen de los Reyes Jeanne van Heeswick Jaishri Abichandani Loraine Leeson Ala Plastica Daniel Tucker Fiona Whelan Bo Zheng Dipti Desai Noah Fischer Lesson plans also reflect the ongoing pedagogical and art action work of Social Practice Queens (SPQ), a unique partnership between Queens College CUNY and the Queens Museum.

This volume is an anthology of current groundbreaking research on social practice art. Contributing scholars provide a variety of assessments of recent projects as well as earlier precedents, define approaches to art production, and provide crucial political context. The topics and art projects covered, many of which the authors have experienced firsthand, represent the work of innovative artists whose creative practice is utilized to engage audience members as active participants in effecting social and political change. Chapters are divided into four parts that cover history, specific examples, global perspectives, and critical analysis.

"Art as Social Action . . . is an essential guide to deepening social art practices and teaching them to students." —Laura Raicovich, president and executive director, Queens Museum Art as Social Action is both a general introduction to and an illustrated, practical textbook for the field of social practice, an art medium that has been gaining popularity in the public sphere. With content arranged thematically around such topics as direct action, alternative organizing, urban imaginaries, anti-bias work, and collective learning, among others, Art as Social Action is a comprehensive manual for teachers about how to teach art as social practice. Along with a series of introductions by leading social practice artists in the field, valuable lesson plans offer examples of pedagogical projects for instructors at both college and high school levels with contributions written by prominent social practice artists, teachers, and thinkers, including: Mary Jane Jacob Maureen Connor Brian Rosa Pablo Helguera Jen de los Reyes Jeanne van Heeswick Jaishri Abichandani Loraine Leeson Ala Plastica Daniel Tucker Fiona Whelan Bo Zheng Dipti Desai Noah Fischer Lesson plans also reflect the ongoing pedagogical and art action work of Social Practice Queens (SPQ), a unique partnership between Queens College CUNY and the Queens Museum.

This interdisciplinary book explores the role of art in placemaking in urban environments, analysing how artists and communities use arts to improve their quality of life. It explores the concept of social practice placemaking, where artists and community members are seen as equal experts in the process. Drawing on examples of local level projects from the USA and Europe, the book explores the impact of these projects on the people involved, on their relationship to the place around them, and on city policy and planning practice. Case studies include Art Tunnel Smithfield, Dublin, an outdoor art gallery and community space in an impoverished area of the city; The Drawing Shed, London, a contemporary arts practice operating in housing estates and parks in Walthamstow; and Big Car, Indianapolis, an arts organisation operating across the whole of this Midwest city. This book offers a timely contribution, bridging the gap between cultural studies and placemaking. It will be of interest to scholars, students and practitioners working in geography, urban studies, architecture, planning, sociology, cultural studies and the arts.