Art in Community
Course Description
This course provides students with a 20th-century art historical framework of the emergence and growth of community based and socially engaged art practices. Students will explore the theory and history of socially engaged and community-based arts practices through required course readings and guided self-reflection prompts. Students will also engage with their community and connect with a multitude of local artists and social change organizations whose missions and practices align with the course content. By course completion, students will have a foundational understanding of the various forms of socially engaged and community-based art practices and will design and complete a collaborative community art project.
Learning Objectives
Identify the unique characteristics of community-based art practice (CBAP) as a genre and how it is distinguished from other forms of artistic practice.
Analyze, using critical perspective/theory, the efficacy of CBAP as a form of creative cultural force leading to community transformation.
Identify how artists are working to frame conversations and advance action on social justice issues and explore ways that these methodologies may be integrated into your own practice.
Articulate the best practices of artists working with communities for community transformation.
Examine institutional values of community building initiatives in Louisville and at Bellarmine University as social systems through the lens of CBAP.
Be able to critically evaluate if/how CBAP may be harnessed for critical community transformation.