The Art of Engagement: Foundations for an international learning community in social practice

拟议的研究网络将探讨如何通过文化和高等教育机构之间的伙伴关系来改善艺术从业者的社会实践教学。它将使用在线通信来测试通过跨国界协作来加强学习的实际可能性，并调查跨机构和地理差异的联网可能带来的其他好处。该网络将形成一个由实践者、文化提供者和教育工作者组成的新社区，以鼓励合作、交流和未来更大合作的可能性。交流将在英美两国的四个艺术机构和大学之间开始，这两个国家在全球范围内相对来说是社会实践艺术及其教育的基础。然后，这将扩展到一个更广泛的网络。核心组织是泰特交换和米德尔塞克斯大学(英国)，以及皇后区博物馆和纽约城市大学(CUNY)(美国)，每个组织都有支持社会参与艺术的独特经验。社会实践在全球艺术家中越来越普遍，他们越来越多地利用自己的创造力来解决紧迫的社会和环境正义的交叉问题。然而，正式发展这一领域有效实践所需的知识和理解的机会仍然相对较少。为了参与更广泛的社会领域而学习的本质本身就提出了一个问题，即是否可以通过利用比英国高等学校提供的更广泛的经验池来更有效地实现这一目标。据设想，特别是在非殖民化艺术教育和博物馆设施的当前发展方面，可以通过在线学习战略支持的合作和交流取得很大成果。该项目将通过召集其他文化和教育专业中心的代表，包括爱尔兰在这一领域具有重大遗产的机构的代表来取得进展。最初为期半天的在线研讨会将促进讨论和思想交流。这场同行-实践者-教育者对话将为来自英国和美国的新兴艺术家举办一系列为期四天的在线研讨会，由每个核心组织主办，以测试未来更长期项目的可能性。由泰特交易所和皇后区博物馆主办的面对面交流将支持这项工作，使不同组织之间能够进行深入对话，分享方法和学习策略。该方案将在一次全天现场直播的虚拟专题讨论会上达到高潮，在会上将展示、讨论和传播方案的结果、成果和产出。随着更广泛的国际参与，这次活动将讨论如何通过合作、交流和持续的网络来扩大这一领域的未来学习。这项工作将由一个由资深从业者、教育工作者和艺术家以及米德尔塞克斯和纽约州立大学课程的校友组成的项目顾问小组提供信息。研究的主要好处将通过未来的合作实现，从而产生教育倡议，为该领域的新兴艺术家提供更大的支持。这些人将通过发现新的和有效的方式发展他们在社会领域的工作而受益，这反过来将有助于他们参与的公众和环境。艺术家、教育家和学者将获得不同方式提供教育活动的观点和想法，而工作坊参与者将有机会获得技能和经验。通过期刊文章的传播将不仅针对学术和文化机构，还将通过专业出版物面向艺术从业者。

The proposed research network will explore how the teaching of social practice can be improved for arts practitioners through partnership between cultural and higher education institutions. It will use online communications to test practical possibilities for augmenting learning through collaboration across national boundaries, and investigate other benefits that networking across institutional and geographical divides can bring. The network will result in the formation of a nascent community of practitioners, cultural providers and educators to encourage cooperation, exchange and possibilities for greater future collaboration.Communications will commence between a core of four arts institutions and universities in the UK and US, two countries that are, relative globally, foundational to social practice arts and its education. This will then be expanded into a wider network. The core organisations are Tate Exchange and Middlesex University (UK), and Queens Museum and City University of New York (CUNY) (USA), each with specific experience of supporting social engagement in art.Social practice is a growing phenomenon amongst artists globally, who are increasingly drawing on their creativity to address urgent intersectional issues of social and environmental justice. There are nevertheless still relatively few opportunities to formally develop the knowledge and understanding needed for effective practice in this field. The nature of learning for engagement in the wider social sphere inherently questions whether it could be more effectively achieved by drawing on a wider pool of experience than UK HEIs have to offer. It is envisaged, particularly in relation to current developments in decolonizing arts education and museum provision, that much could be achieved through collaboration and exchange supported by online learning strategies.The project will progress through bringing together representatives from other cultural and educational centres of expertise, including institutions in Ireland with its significant legacy in this field. An initial half-day online symposium will facilitate discussion and the sharing of ideas. This peer-practitioner-educator dialogue will lead to a series of four half-day online workshops for emerging artists from UK and US locations, hosted by each of the core organisations, to test possibilities for longer-term future programmes. A face-to-face exchange hosted by Tate Exchange and Queens Museum will support this work, enabling in-depth dialogue and the sharing of methodologies and learning strategies between the different organisations. The programme will culminate in a full-day live-streamed virtual symposium where programme findings, outcomes and outputs will be demonstrated, discussed and disseminated. With wider international participation, this event will address how future learning in this field can be expanded through cooperation, exchange and ongoing networking. The work will be informed by a Project Advisory Group of established practitioners, educators and artists, together with alumni of Middlesex and CUNY courses.The main benefits of the research will be realised through future collaborations leading to educational initiatives that can offer greater support to emerging artists in this field. These will benefit through discovering new and effective ways of developing their work in the social sphere, which will in turn aid the publics and environments with which they engage. Artists, educationalists and academics will gain perspective and ideas for different ways of delivering educational activities, while workshops participants will have opportunity to gain skills and experience. Dissemination through journal articles will not only be aimed at academics and cultural institutions, but also arts practitioners via professional publications.