Socially Engaged Art

This week Xtine Burrough was our guest speaker. Honestly, the presentation that she gave was confusing to me. She focused on art as a social practice. I had never heard art described this way so I was intrigued to find out what this meant. While a lot of the definitions were very abstract and I didn’t completely understand them, the explanation that stood out to me was how art is used to change reality. According to tate.org socially engaged art is art that “involves people and communities in debate, collaboration or social interaction”. 

 

For me, the most interesting art is something that has a message within it or tied to it. Art that discusses politics, the environment, or social conditions is more meaningful and beautiful. I think that something really valuable about art is that it can transmit messages and ideas in a way that can be much more persuasive and impactful. Additionally, art can be used to help people reflect about their own opinions towards specific topics.

 

One example of socially engaged art is the pieces made by Assemble. They won the Turner award in 2015 for their work. One of their projects rebuilt and refurbished homes that the community had worked to save from demolition. I found this project very cool because the artists were able to work with the community to accomplish a shared goal that would celebrate their culture. 

 

Here is a picture of one of the refurbished houses:

 

Assmebly.jpeg

 

Check out some of their other projects: https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects

 

Additionally, one form of socially engaged art that I find myself gravitating towards time after time, are images that celebrate diversity and fight for equal rights and treatment of all individuals. They may seem simple, but these images can convey so much love, struggle, and hope. I often see these images as part of infographics on Instagram and I can’t help but appreciate not only their artistry but the courage to stand up and advocate for marginalized groups. 

 

Here’s just one example of these incredible images. This one is very influential for me as it emphasizes health care for women:

 

equality.png

 

The second half of class was dedicated to a one breath poetry workshop. To begin with, I was very hesitant because the last time that I wrote a poem was probably about 4 years ago. And honestly, writing a poem was difficult for me. My group started with the structure of a haiku to at least have some guidelines. We initially wrote one poem together and then Xtine encouraged us to modify and personalize the poem. Xtine suggested that we emphasize different words, add or remove words or whole lines. The resulting poem that I wrote was: life is messy and complicated. But it’s beautiful.

 

This poem made me think about trees with twisted branches or trunks. Despite looking different to other trees, they are incredibly beautiful and are able to thrive. Sometimes, their twisted trunks or branches are due to damage, such as lightning, so these unique characteristics are evidence of their resilience. I think that this is incredibly amazing.

 

tree.jpeg

 

Sources:

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/socially-engaged-practice#:~:text=Socially%20engaged%20practice%2C%20also%20referred,debate%2C%20collaboration%20or%20social%20interaction.

https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2021/6/what-does-gender-equality-look-like

https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/closeup-view-of-the-old-evergreen-juniper-trunk-and-branches-against-picture-id1148456664?k=20&m=1148456664&s=612x612&w=0&h=zY23LNHzNY2hzm_8r5jhtXWV2k1Q4hhyTdFpf3Cq_os=

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemble_(collective)#:~:text=Assemble%20is%20a%20collective%20based,16%20and%2020%20permanent%20members.