Community art
Encyclopedia
Community Art could be loosely defined as a way of creating art in which professional artists collaborate more or less intensively with people who don't normally actively engage in the arts. Community arts, also sometimes known as "dialogical art", "community-engaged" or "community-based art," refers to artistic activity based in a community
setting. Works from this genre can be of any art forms
and is characterized by interaction or dialogue with the community. The term was defined in the late-1960s and spawned a movement which grew in the United States
, Canada
, the UK, Ireland
, and Australia
.
Often community art is based in deprived areas, with a community oriented, grassroots approach. Members of a local community will come together to express concerns or issues through an artistic process, sometimes this may involve professional artists or actors. These communal artistic processes act as a catalyst to trigger events or changes within a community or even at a national or international level.
In English-speaking countries community art is often seen as the work of community arts centre
. Visual arts
(fine art
, video, new media art
), music, and theater are common mediums in community art centers. Many arts companies in the UK do some community-based work, which typically involves developing participation by non-professional members of local communities.
In Scandinavia
, the term community art means more often contemporary art project.
can be seen in many ways, it can refer to different kind of groups. There are also virtual communities or online communities. Internet art
has many different forms, but often there is some kind of community that is created for a project or it is an effect of an art project.
includes theatre made by, with, and for a community—it may refer to theatre that is made entirely by a community with no outside help, or to a collaboration between community members and professional theatre artists, or to performance made entirely by professionals that is addressed to a particular community. Community theatres range in size from small groups led by single individuals that perform in borrowed spaces to large permanent companies with well-equipped facilities of their own. Many community theatres are successful, non-profit businesses with a large active membership and, often, a full-time professional staff. Community theatre is often devised
and may draw on popular theatrical forms, such as carnival
, circus
, and parade
s, as well as performance modes from commercial theatre. Community theatre is understood to contribute to the social capital
of a community, insofar as it develops the skills, community spirit, and artistic sensibilities of those who participate, whether as producers or audience-members.
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Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
setting. Works from this genre can be of any art forms
The arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
and is characterized by interaction or dialogue with the community. The term was defined in the late-1960s and spawned a movement which grew in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the UK, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Often community art is based in deprived areas, with a community oriented, grassroots approach. Members of a local community will come together to express concerns or issues through an artistic process, sometimes this may involve professional artists or actors. These communal artistic processes act as a catalyst to trigger events or changes within a community or even at a national or international level.
In English-speaking countries community art is often seen as the work of community arts centre
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
. Visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
(fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
, video, new media art
New media art
New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
), music, and theater are common mediums in community art centers. Many arts companies in the UK do some community-based work, which typically involves developing participation by non-professional members of local communities.
Community art and public art
The term community art refers also to field of community, neighborhood and public art practice with roots in social justice and popular and informal education methods. In the art world, community art signifies a particular art making practice, emphasizing community involvement and collaboration. Community art is most often art for social change and involves some empowerment of the community members who come together to create artwork/s with artists. This is a growing national, international, regional and local field. Recently community arts and sustainability work or environmental action have begun to interface, including urban revitalization projects creating artwork at a neighbourhood level.In Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, the term community art means more often contemporary art project.
Online community art
A communityCommunity
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
can be seen in many ways, it can refer to different kind of groups. There are also virtual communities or online communities. Internet art
Internet art
Internet art is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work...
has many different forms, but often there is some kind of community that is created for a project or it is an effect of an art project.
Community theatre
Community theatreCommunity theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
includes theatre made by, with, and for a community—it may refer to theatre that is made entirely by a community with no outside help, or to a collaboration between community members and professional theatre artists, or to performance made entirely by professionals that is addressed to a particular community. Community theatres range in size from small groups led by single individuals that perform in borrowed spaces to large permanent companies with well-equipped facilities of their own. Many community theatres are successful, non-profit businesses with a large active membership and, often, a full-time professional staff. Community theatre is often devised
Devised theatre
Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates not from a writer or writers, but from collaborative, usually improvisatory, work by a group of people...
and may draw on popular theatrical forms, such as carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
, circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
, and parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s, as well as performance modes from commercial theatre. Community theatre is understood to contribute to the social capital
Social capital
Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...
of a community, insofar as it develops the skills, community spirit, and artistic sensibilities of those who participate, whether as producers or audience-members.
Key artists
- Jerri AllynJerri AllynJerri Allyn is a feminist performance and installation artist and educator based in Los Angeles, California. Allyn earned an MA in Art and Community from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont and also attended The Feminist Studio Workshop at the Los Angeles Woman's Building.Allyn was active in the...
- Judith F. Baca
- Josef Beuys
- Harrell FletcherHarrell FletcherHarrell Fletcher is an American artist in Portland, Oregon who creates socially engaged interdisciplinary projects.-Early work:While completing his degree at California College of Arts and Crafts, Fletcher began collaborating with artist Jon Rubin...
- Adrian PiperAdrian PiperAdrian Margaret Smith Piper is a first-generation conceptual artist and analytic philosopher who was born in New York City and lived for many years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts before emigrating from the United States...
- Mierle Laderman UkelesMierle Laderman UkelesMierle Laderman Ukeles is a New York City-based artist known for her feminist and service oriented artwork. In 1969 she wrote a manifesto entitled Maintenance Art—Proposal for an Exhibition, challenging the domestic role of women and proclaiming herself a "maintenance artist"...
- Helen CrummyHelen CrummyHelen Crummy, MBE was a founder of The Craigmillar Festival Society , and served as the Organising Secretary for the group until 1985....
- Ruth HowardRuth Howard (artist)Ruth Howard is a Canadian artist who creates large-scale arts and theatre projects with urban communities and has been called "a key figure in the Canadian Community Play movement"...
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See also
- Arts districtArts districtAn arts district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, dance clubs, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and public squares for performances. Such an area is usually...
- Arts centreArts centreAn art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
- Citizen mediaCitizen mediaThe term citizen media refers to forms of content produced by private citizens who are otherwise not professional journalists. Citizen journalism, participatory media and democratic media are related principles.-Principles of citizen media:...
- Community mediaCommunity mediaCommunity media is any form of media that is created and controlled by a community, either a geographic community or a community of identity or interest. Community media is separate from commercial media, state run media, or public broadcasting. The fundamental premise is to engage those groups...
- Community radioCommunity radioCommunity radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
- Environmental sculptureEnvironmental sculptureThe term environmental sculpture is variously defined. A development of the art of the 20th century, environmental sculpture usually creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer...
- FestivalFestivalA festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
- Installation artInstallation artInstallation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
- MuralMuralA mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
- net.artNet.art"net.art" refers to a group of artists who worked in the medium of Internet art from 1994. The main members of this movement are Vuk Ćosić, Jodi.org, Alexei Shulgin, Olia Lialina, and Heath Bunting...
- Not-for-profit arts organizationNot-for-profit arts organizationA not-for-profit arts organization is usually in the form of a not-for-profit corporation, association, or foundation. Such organizations are formed for the purpose of developing and promoting the work of artists in various visual and performing art forms such as film, sculpture, dance, painting,...
- Participatory artParticipatory ArtParticipatory art is an approach to making art in which the audience is engaged directly in the creative process, allowing them to become co-authors, editors, and observers of the work...
- Public artPublic artThe term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
- Site-specific artSite-specific artSite-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork...
- Street artStreet artStreet art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives...
Further reading
- Cleveland, William (author)William Cleveland (author)William Cleveland is an author and the director of the Center for the Study of Art & Community in Minneapolis, which he co-founded in 1991...
. Art and UpheavalArt and UpheavalArt and Upheaval: Artists on the Worlds’ Frontlines, by William Cleveland, with a foreword by Clarissa Pinkola Estés,is a nonfiction book released by New Village Press in August 2008. The book documents artists in six parts of the world who have been working to rebuild peace and the culture of...
: Artists on the World's Frontlines. Oakland, CA: New Village PressNew Village PressNew Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
, 2008. - Elizabeth, Lynne and Suzanne Young. Works of Heart: Building Village Through the Arts. Oakland, CA: New Village PressNew Village PressNew Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
, 2006. - Fox, John. Eyes on Stalks. London: Methuen, 2002.
- Goldbard, ArleneArlene GoldbardArlene Goldbard is a writer, social activist and consultant whose focus is the intersection of culture, politics, and spirituality. She is best known as an advocate for cultural democracy and a creator of cultural critique and new cultural policy proposals....
. New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural DevelopmentNew Village PressNew Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
. Oakland, CA: New Village PressNew Village PressNew Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
, 2006. - Hirschkop, Ken. Mikhail Bakhtin: An Aesthetic for Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Kester, Grant. Conversation Pieces: Community + Communication in Modern Art. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
- Knight, Keith and Mat Schwarzman. Beginner's Guide to Community-Based ArtsNew Village PressNew Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
. Oakland, CA: New Village PressNew Village PressNew Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
, 2006. - Kwon, Miwon. One Place after Another Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity. Boston: MIT Press. 2004.
- Lacy, Suzanne. Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art. Seattle: Bay Press, 1995.
- Pete Moser and George McKay, eds. (2005) Community Music: A Handbook. Russell House Publishing.
- Helen Crummy (1992) Let The People Sing. Craigmillar Communiversity
- "An Outburst of Frankness: Community Arts in Ireland - A Reader" edited by Sandy Fitzgerald. Tasc at New Island, 2004.