• To investigate ways in which the visual arts can be mobilized to improve and enhance people’s lives.
• To identify key issues and debates in relation to the visual arts in the public realm
• To explore the role of the Government and key arts organizations
• To consider the visual arts as a means of agency in society
• To consider a range of approaches, methods, materials and technologies
• To extend subject knowledge

Objectives

By the end of the module, the student should have

• Conducted research on specified topics from the course syllabus and demonstrated the ability to access appropriate sources and engage with them critically
• Structured their material cohesively, showing an understanding of relevant concepts, issues and debates
• Given a well-planned, well organised seminar paper, demonstrating reflectivity, the ability to problematise and the capacity to form critical evaluations
• Engaged in group critiqes and shown evidence of contextual knowledge

Indicative Content

The module would cover the following interrelated themes in proportion to the extent that they relate to the overall student learning experience during the course:

• Defining Community and Public/Redefining Art
• Issues: Inclusion, Access, Identity, Difference
• Creative Britain and Regional Arts
• New Genre Public Art
• Advocacy and Art for Social Change
• Cultural Intervention and Activism
• The Role of Crafts in the Community
• Video and Electronic Media
• Adult Learning in the Visual Arts
• Recording, Accountability and Evaluation

Indicative Reading List

Adonis, A, and Pollard, S, A Class Act: the Myth of Britain’s Classless Society, 1997
“Art and Public,” 5 article special section, New Art Examiner, vol.26, no. 7, April 1999, p. 16-38
Berk, Amy, “Are People More Important than Art?” Artweek, vol. 32, no. 4, April 2001, p. 15-16
Dickson, Malcolm, ed. Art with People A & N Publications, 1995
Finkelpearl, Tom, Dialogues in Public Art, 2000
Felshin, Nina, But is it Art? The Spirit of Art as Activism, 1995
Furlong, A. and Cartmel, F. Young People and Social Change: Individualisation and Risk in Late Modernity, 1997
Harding, David, “Critical Sites: Issues in Critical Art Practice and Pedagogy,” Public Art Review, vol. 10, no. 2, Spring/Summer 1999, p.34
H.S.M.O. Social Trends, latest edition
Jamieson, A. et al, (eds) Critical Approaches to Aging and Later Life, 1997
Kuppers, Patricia, “New Landscapes: Community Art, Video Processes and Fantasies of Disability,” Afterimage, vol. 29, no. 3, Nov/Dec, 2001, p. 24-5
Lacey, Suzanne, ed. Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art, 1995
P.S.I. Cultural Trends, latest edition
P.S.I. Ethnic Minorities in Britain, 1997
Public Art Journal: The Magazine of Art in the Public Domain,
Mac an Ghaill, M. Contemporary Racisms and Ethnicities: Social and Cultural Transformations,1998
Miles, Malcolm, Art, Space and the City: Public Art and Urban Futures, 1997
Silverstone, R. Communication by Design: the Politics of Information Technology, 1996
Scott, J. Poverty and Wealth: Citizenship, Deprivation and Privilege, 1994
S.C.P.R. British Social Attitudes, latest edition
“Sharing the Future: the Arts and Community Development,” 3 article special, High Performance, vol. 17, Winter 1994, p.27-33
Webster, Mark, ed. Finding Voices, Making Choices,