Socially Engaged Art and Ethics: Power, Politics and Participation

Bringing together artists, curators, activists, academics, managers, and educators from around the world, this unique anthology examines the notion of ethics within socially engaged art. The volume aims to deepen conversations around what ‘good’ or ‘right’ activities could be in this developing and expanding practice, and readers are invited to consider the contextual nature of socially engaged art – its politics, infrastructures and values. Supported by case studies from the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Cuba, South Africa, and Norway, as well as discussions relating to education, cultural policy, and activism, this volume provides a much-needed critical analysis in the making, curating, commissioning and managing of socially engaged art. This collection is an ideal text for interdisciplinary courses that place visual arts (including design or performance) within social and political contexts but also for students and scholars of art, art history and visual studies more generally.