Civic Engagement: A very basic definition of civic engagement is the understanding, acceptance, and celebration of the interconnectedness between people and communities. Civic engagement practice can begin quite simply with curiosity in the communities and issues that surround and interest us. This curiosity often engages people to become active participants in the positive engagement with, and transformation, of our world. Many artists discover civic engagement necessary and integral to the flourishing of their art.

Art & Civic Engagement at SMFA: Translating civic engagement to the language and values of this interdisciplinary art institution is a methodology that is constantly being explored, transformed, extended, and pushed by the SMFA community. Civic Engagement at SMFA is grounded in:

Creative Investigation
Risk-taking
Individual Vision
Interdisciplinarity

Creative Investigation
Contemporary artists, whose art may include civic engagement, now more then ever, see research integral to their creative practice. Approaches to research include discourses on site-specific art, interdisciplinary art practice, and social intervention.

The Urban Anthropology Project, organized by Sabri Reed, used a dialogical performance process to research and react to the urban landscape in Durham, NC. More on this project here.

Risk Taking
A recent walk organized by the Berwick Research Institute asked What is the risk involved in looking at the world through the eyes of someone else? and What is the risk in not doing so? Stepping out of your comfort zone involves risk. This risk can become a vital part of the artwork or art process. 

Daniel Phillips used his camera to reach out to Latino youth. New possibilities for both art and friendship emerged when he chose to put the camera down. More on this project here.

Individual Vision
Civic engagement can naturally flow out of an artist's own history, interests, relationships, and experiences. Contact the IACE to set up a conversation and you may be surprised how prepared you are to create projects that engage community.

Phillis Labanowski turned to her past as an activist and public school teacher to develop her creative process. In Joyce McDaniel's class, "Material a Week," she created the Dubble Bubble Bubble Gum Museum with the one-pound bag of bubble gum she gave out as a material. She needed lots of gum chewers and chose to visit a local public school where she worked with a group of fifth graders who were captivated by the question, "Can bubble gum be an art material?" Meanwhile, she presented her research on the sugar industry and dental care access. More on this project here. See other projects by this artist here.

Interdisciplinarity
Recognizing interconnectedness and cross-hybridization as inherent in contemporary art practice at SMFA, civic engagement can go hand-in-hand with the creation of conceptual and content-based work. 

Michael Collins began the process for this work on a service visit to New Orleans. Growing out of the despair of the devastation, his piece began with a performance: a ritual washing of the feet of the locals he knew best, and collecting audio recordings and sculptural casts. These casts and collected audio were presented as sculptures so that people elsewhere could recreate for themselves this place of respect and communion. More on this project here.

What does Civic Engagement Mean to You?
Please participate in this conversation! We are always interested in new submissions. Please submit images (72 dpi and no more than 424 pixels wide) and descriptions of your project to Andrew Barco.

These pages are created and sponsored by The Institute for Art and Civic Engagement (IACE), recognizing the potential for artists to have an impact on contemporary issues in public life, from local to global communities. IACE serves as a catalyst for the development of creative ideas, programs, research, and action.