The Social Impact Of The Arts

An intellectual history of contrasting ideas around the power of the arts to bring about personal and societal change - for better and worse. A fascinating account of the value and functions of the arts in society, in both the private sphere of individual emotions and self-development and public sphere of politics and social distinction.

This book brings together discussions about Australian arts policy and funding, outcomes of arts engagement in terms of social inclusion, well-being and education. It presents exemplars of creative programs or case studies that build capacity and lasting impact for communities in urban and regional Australia. This book describes the impact of the arts using narrative case studies. Through this, it develops conceptual understanding and frameworks that can be used to dynamically assess the value and impact of arts engagement across the three types of cultural value: intrinsic value, instrumental value and institutional value. It focuses on how arts engagement creates, supports and extends factors such as well-being, social inclusion and educational achievement. This book provides an innovative examination of the evidence from Australian projects depicting the impact of the arts on a range of indicators and sectors.

Arts education is often said to be a means of developing critical and creative thinking. This report examines the state of empirical knowledge about the impact of arts education on these kinds of outcomes.

More than ever before, the arts are shaping and influencing our daily lives through the media and the creative industries. The arts are no longer confined to museums and theatres, but are adding value to our national economies and improving the quality of education. This has implications for arts education. However, unlike other subjects taught at schools, the arts have rarely made their purpose clear: Why are they taught? What is good arts education? And what are the benefits of teaching creative subjects or using creative ways to teach? In 2004 Professor Anne Bamford conducted the first international analysis of arts education research for UNESCO, in partnership with IFACCA and the Australia Council. Comparing data and case studies from more than 60 countries, the book analyses the differences between 'education in the arts' and 'education through the arts'. While appreciating that arts programmes are embedded in their unique social and cultural contexts, Professor Bamford develops internationally comparable standards for quality arts education. In addition, she identifies a number of concrete educational, cultural, and social benefits of arts education. This definitive work is of major interest to policy-makers, educators and artists. Professor Anne Bamford is Director of the Engine Room at the University of the Arts London and has an international reputation for her research in arts education, emerging literacies and visual communication. Through her research as a World Scholar for UNESCO, she has pursued issues of innovation, social impact and equity and diversity. She has conducted major national impact and evaluation studies for the governments of Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium and Australia.

With a focus on socially engaged art practices in the twenty-first century, this book explores how artists use their creative practices to raise consciousness, form communities, create change, and bring forth social impact through new technologies and digital practices. Suzanne Lacy’s Foreword and section introduction authors Anne Balsamo, Harrell Fletcher, Natalie Loveless, Karen Moss, and Stephanie Rothenberg present twenty-five in-depth case studies by established and emerging contemporary artists including Kim Abeles, Christopher Blay, Joseph DeLappe, Mary Beth Heffernan, Chris Johnson, Rebekah Modrak, Praba Pilar, Tabita Rezaire, Sylvain Souklaye, and collaborators Victoria Vesna and Siddharth Ramakrishnan. Artists offer firsthand insight into how they activate methods used in socially engaged art projects from the twentieth century and incorporated new technologies to create twenty-first century, socially engaged, digital art practices. Works highlighted in this book span collaborative image-making, immersive experiences, telematic art, time machines, artificial intelligence, and physical computing. These reflective case studies reveal how the artists collaborate with participants and communities, and have found ways to expand, transform, reimagine, and create new platforms for meaningful exchange in both physical and virtual spaces. An invaluable resource for students and scholars of art, technology, and new media, as well as artists interested in exploring these intersections.