Actual Size is a small storefront gallery in L.A.'s Chinatown, just off the main drag of Broadway. Only 250 square feet, the tiny white cube used to be a convenience store called the New High Mart, and is surrounded by hair salons and souvenir shops.
Recently, I have had a few experiences that have encouraged my thinking on how a socially-engaged art project, or any experiential artwork that actively facilitates and engenders interactions among its participants or with the work itself, aligns with theoretical educational models.
I got to thinking about the thousands of people that graduate with MFAs each year. With government and universities assessing the economic prospects of their graduates in the face of overwhelming student loan debt, I wonder how MFA programs measure up?
The region of Southern California produces hundreds of MFA graduates each year, yet the traditional (and even non-traditional) art markets barely support a frac...
Rachel baffled a group of teenage boys in the Air Force cadet program by turning the tables on military procedure and facilitating a discussion about their concerns, including a serious discussion about video game addiction. Cherise explored why her childhood friends were drifting apart in college. Jacob organized his fellow baseball players and successfully lobbied their coach for more reasonable practice hours.
I've taught classes organized around the idea of "social practice," but to me this has become an increasingly limited and abstract way to package a university c...
At a recent conference about socially-engaged art, Dutch artist Jeanne van Heeswijk seemed uncomfortable presenting about her ongoing work with residents in A...
“Did you hear about this underwater sculptor?” my husband asks me the other day. It is rare that contemporary art makes it on his radar, even in his rapacious d...
In early December, I was lucky enough to be invited to a conference in Florence, Italy on socially-engaged art. The gathering was organized by NYU in conjunctio...
QMA collaborates with the Uni Project to bring a mobile reading room to the newly pedestrianized Corona Plaza, August 2012. Photo | Courtesy of the Queens Muse...