Diversity, Social Justice, & Community Engagement

In this studio seminar, we will challenge the definition of “community” and develop a deeper understanding of the notions of “diversity” and “social justice”. Starting from our own communities, we will study examples of how communities within communities emerge, how we develop a sense of belonging or not-belonging, and how we interact within and outside of these communities.

The core aim of the seminar will be to understand how artistic research can be based on engaging an existing community, creating temporary communities, or supporting long-term community building. We will examine a range of artworks that were informed through engagement and tackle issues of social justice by learning from personal and collective memories. We will develop strategies to engage people, and discuss the ethical aspects of community engagement in participatory artistic practices.

Throughout the semester, each participant will be asked to produce an artistic project, individually or in collaboration. To start, you will be invited to revisit and enhance your awareness of your own personal history and your own position in society, biases, privileges, and lack thereof, in relation to the subject-matter that your work addresses. Such a grounding is crucial to be able to connect to any social groups that you address with your work and to think purposefully about how to reach an intended audience and potential project participants.

Each participant will be asked to initiate connections to a critically responsive audience among the communities they are reaching out to. In contrast to making work “about” an assumed social group, developing a work in continuous exchange with a developing community allows to receive subject-specific feedback and creating meaning in relation to a community. The choice of artistic medium or technique will be developed as part of this interaction process in relation to the specific realms of meaning that are relevant to the project. This overall process leads to a sincere understanding of the social context and allows to formulate significant and novel questions.

Each project will be developed in the following stages:

• 1) Research stage: from forming an idea to conceptualization (4 weeks)
• 2) Production stage: artistic expression & execution of the work (6 weeks)
• 3) Documentation and presentation (2 weeks)

The results of each stage and the final result of the overall project will be assessed separately. Attendance, active participation in discussions, and offering meaningful feedback to peers all carry high weight in the final evaluation.

Active participation in the seminars is essential for this project. The classroom will form a safe environment for each artist to present their work and receive feedback. In addition to plenary group meetings, we will have one-on-one meetings for in-depth discussions. Each student is required to have at least one such one-on-one meeting every three weeks to discuss progress and further steps.

The plenary meetings will take place during the first two hours of the dates listed below, and will be followed by one-on-one meetings. Further one-on-one meetings will be organised and announced weekly.

The class will be held in English.