This year’s Open Engagement sets out to discuss art and social practice. Arts writer and theorist Stephen Wright positions art and social practice as a double ontology; this work should be evaluated for both the social and artistic functions. How do we define this way of working within the context of art? What are the social applications of this work? Through conversations, interviews, open reflection on experiences, and related projects created for or presented at the conference we will be looking at five themes that encompass ideas connected to social practice: Peoples and Publics, Social Economies, In Between Places, Tracking and Tracing, and Sentiment and Strategies.
Peoples + Publics
Democracy, Group Work, Participation, Audience, “folk”, Activism
Social Economies
Experience Economy, Education, Social Marketing, Networking, Technology
In Between Spaces
Transdisciplinarity, Field Work, Urban/Rural, Defining and Naming
Tracking + Tracing
Histories, Documentary and Documentation
Sentiment + Strategies
Feelings, Advice, Slowness, Generosity, Friendship
