Across the world, artists are now embedding themselves in communities of people before imagining any art or art project. The community and artist work together to discover the kinds of projects that address areas of community concern. The artist provides the leadership to bring people together that might not connecting at the moment. Then the artist imagines art projects that the community implements together.
These artists work under a number of names including Socially Engaged Artists, Social Practice, Artist-in-Residence or Community Artists. Several American universities offer special training in this cultural role for artists.
Issue: Young Boys are Not Reading Books.
Artist Idea: Place Special Books for Boys in Barber Shops.
Issue: Burned House in Center of Small Town
Artist Idea: Recycle the Unburned Parts into a Gathering and Performance space.
Issue: The Aspirations of Regular People are Not Being Heard
Artist Idea: Giant chalk boards on the sides of buildings to write ideas
Feature picture is Candy Chang’s “I wish this was…” stickers for community members to comment on changes in the neighborhood.