This practice-driven course explores the relationships between collective art-making and civic engagement. We will carefully consider the history, ethics, and organizational structures of community engaged art practices and then meet with local organizations and artists to better understand the arts and communities specific to Charlottesville. Drawing from a variety of practices including site-specific performance and public art, we will develop context specific approaches to art making that provide a sustained opportunity to live and work off Grounds. Building on what we learn and experience, we will design a larger collaborative art project in Charlottesville.
We will strive to create an experience of making something that we can draw from for the rest of our lives, a challenging imperfect experience that models a way of being together and asks questions about our standards and value systems. Our community will extend beyond the temporal and spatial confines of a “course” to become a collective exploring a variety of projects and causes.
Syllabus (pdf)