Ruined House - an act of public reading - took place today between 10.45am and 11.45am on the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The first of a new series of public interventions by dot to dot active arts CIC. I repeatedly read 'A Note on The Title' from the appendices of Bleak House by Charles Dickens, 1853. …Read more RUINED HOUSE: an act of public reading, Gateshead Millennium Bridge, 23/10/15
Socially engaged art
Arise street-crack Buddleias–why socially engaged artists must attempt to storm the citadels
I was invited to attend Storming the Citadels? Changing attitudes and frameworks to arts practices and research in community settings by Sophie Hope. As an admirer of Sophie’s research and a believer in many of the demands made in Owen Kelly’s classic 1984 text Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels, I travelled to…Read more Arise street-crack Buddleias–why socially engaged artists must attempt to storm the citadels
Do we need ‘another name’ for socially engaged art? Erm, No…
Eavesdropping, Aidan Moesby, Vinyl wall text, 2014 I’m intensely interested in perceptions of socially engaged art: past, present and future practice and theory. My research and practice is about exploring the roots of this practice, its place in societies, its ability to open up potential spaces on a myriad of levels from social to personal,…Read more Do we need ‘another name’ for socially engaged art? Erm, No…
Art and (In)equality–a film of my provocation @CREATEglos event on 1st June 2015
I’ve already blogged about the event a little bit and shared my presentation but, as inequality within arts and culture has risen in prominence in the past few days, I thought I would share the film made by CREATEgloucestershire in which I “perform” my provocation. You can read more about Dr Dave O’Brien’s take on…Read more Art and (In)equality–a film of my provocation @CREATEglos event on 1st June 2015
Socially engaged art–marginal practices & critical utopias
I delivered this talk about my research to the Northumbria - Sunderland AHRC Centre for Doctoral Training Student Conference on the 1st July 2015 at The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. It’s about negating a negation – negative dialectics. It’s also about some of the potentialities that socially engaged art may be able to explore…Read more Socially engaged art–marginal practices & critical utopias
My life as research: tracing the edges of socially engaged & participatory arts practice
I was asked to present a brief précis of my current research at Northumbria University last week. I thought it might be of interested to some people. So here it is. It’s an edited version of the presentation. The images are a mix of my own, from my case studies and old film stills. It…Read more My life as research: tracing the edges of socially engaged & participatory arts practice
IN/OUT – socially engaged art, UK cultural institutions & The Hunting of the Snark
There’s a debate within socially engaged arts about whether this unique form of practice should resist incorporation into institutions, galleries, museums, etc. or are these ‘managed’ spaces best placed to support, to provide a home for our work. The debate is taking place in some countries. The US are leading the way. It’s a debate…Read more IN/OUT – socially engaged art, UK cultural institutions & The Hunting of the Snark
Time to drop innovation? Socially engaged art is not The Latest Thing…
Elizabeth Grady began a discussion on the ‘innovative’ socially engaged network a blade of grass entitled The Latest Thing. I contributed via Twitter then wrote Is socially engaged art ‘innovative’? (A word game with scrapheap prizes) in response to what I felt was a move towards attempting to position socially engaged art as ‘innovative’. Grady…Read more Time to drop innovation? Socially engaged art is not The Latest Thing…
My contribution to article about socially engaged art for Museums Journal, October 2014
I’m very pleased to have been included in an article by Simon Stephens in October’s edition of Museums Journal entitled People Power. It’s an interesting piece with a range of differing perspectives about social practice. Click the image above or here to read the PDF.
The New (un)Rules of Public Art
I remember reading The New Rules of Public Art sometime last year, not long after Situations UK published them. I liked them at the time. There were a couple of things that I didn’t quite agree with. I also recently wrote about my misgivings about Situations UK’s recent Folkestone Triennial commission Folkestone Gold so revisiting…Read more The New (un)Rules of Public Art
‘Pilots to Practice’–reflections about an ArtWorks PHF participatory arts conference
Yesterday, 9th September 2014, I attended Pilots to Practice at BALTIC – a ArtWorks North East conference about participatory arts. I presented a PechaKucha entitled above ground level: old as new, new as old – social practice in a post-industrial port (see my previous post below for the presentation). I also wrote a review of…Read more ‘Pilots to Practice’–reflections about an ArtWorks PHF participatory arts conference
‘above ground level’ – old as new, new as old: grassroots social practice in a post-industrial port
This is my presentation for Paul Hamlyn ArtWorks North East ‘Pilots to Practice’ conference at BALTIC. I gave this as a PechaKucha – using a narrative performance style of delivery. It’s about dot to dot active arts’ current project, ‘above ground level’, taking place in Blyth, Northumberland. Please make sure you use notes button at…Read more ‘above ground level’ – old as new, new as old: grassroots social practice in a post-industrial port
social practice & social change – my thoughts – an unpublished interview transcript
This blog post is a transcript of an interview that was never published. The interviewer asked five questions. I answered. Can art be an effective way of bringing about social change? If so, any examples? In what ways can it improve people's lives? There are many in the arts world who believe art…Read more social practice & social change – my thoughts – an unpublished interview transcript
Fools Gold – is #FolkestoneGold ‘participatory art’?
#FolkestoneGold. Popular and extremely newsworthy. People digging for little chunks of gold on the beach in Folkestone is certainly an arts marketing dream; a boon for this year’s Folkestone Triennial. Folkestone Digs was commissioned by new Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation Situations and produced by Berlin-based artist Michael Sailstorfer. But what does this public…Read more Fools Gold – is #FolkestoneGold ‘participatory art’?
social practice as ‘expanded field’ or ‘excluded field’
This blog post is explores elements of my doctoral research exploring the question of whether participatory art can support sustainable social change. It’s taken from some of the writing in the introduction to my second draft literature review… Click the image above to see a database of more than 350 socially engaged arts projects. …Read more social practice as ‘expanded field’ or ‘excluded field’
colouring in culture 