Conversations in clay: Engaging community through a socially engaged public art project

Authors

  • Kira Hegeman University of Georgia

Keywords:

Creative Placemaking, Public Art, Socially Engaged Art, Conversation, Community, Clay, Participation

Abstract

Throughout the course of a given day individuals may weave in and out of shared spaces, passing one another on the trails of a public park or across the stones of a city square, often anonymously, perhaps with a fleeting smile or nod.  Creative placemaking, the practice of creating venues that enable community members to express their relationships with one another as well as the physical environment (Webb, 2014), offers a chance to re-envision the community-building capacity of such public spaces. In this paper I describe the process of designing and facilitating a socially engaged public art project for Art on the Atlanta Beltline, a temporary, annual public art festival in Atlanta, Georgia. Conceived as both an art installation and a site for informal art education, this project illustrates the potential for art making in public spaces to invite conversation and encourage empathic interaction between diverse community members.  

Author Biography

Kira Hegeman, University of Georgia

Kira Hegeman is currently pursuing a PhD in Art Education at the University of Georgia, with a focus on arts-based research, informal sites of learning and socially engaged art. Kira’s interest in community and public art grew from her position as Art Director for Art Relief International, a Thailand based organization devoted to empowerment and community building through the arts. Continually inspired by the power of creative expression to promote communication, confidence, and group cohesion, Kira’s research interests include the role of interactivity, public space, and collaborative art making in fostering conversation across diverse social lines. Kira works as both an artist and educator, striving to create visual works that invite participants to collaborate in the art making process through storytelling, public workshops, or interactive elements.

Authors’ Twitter Handles: @kirahegeman; @monstermenageri

 Twitter Handles to share article with: @AtlantaBeltLine, @ExperienceUGArt, @PublicArtReview

References

Art on the Atlanta Beltline. (2015, September 23). Retrieved from http://art.beltline.org/.

Barrett, T. (2010). Aesthetics, conversations, and social change. In T.Costantino & B.White (Eds.), Essays on aesthetic education for the 21st Century (pp.123-142). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Barret, T. (2013). Writing towards empathy. In T.Costantino & B.White (Eds.), Aesthetics, empathy and education (pp.29-39). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

Biesta, G. (2012). Becoming public: Public pedagogy, citizenship and the public sphere. Social & Cultural Geography, 13(7), 683-697.

Bourriaud, N. (2002). Relational aesthetics. France: Les presses du reel.

Carroll, N. (2004). Art and human nature. Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism, 62(2), 95-107. doi:10.1111/j.1540-594X.2004.00143.x

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York, NY: Kappa Delta Pi.

Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Freeman, M., & Vasconcelos, E.S. (2010). Critical social theory: Core tenets, inherent issues. New Directions for Evaluation, (127), 7-19.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Grodach, C. (2010). Art spaces, public space and the link to community development. Community Development Journal, 45(4), 474-493.

Helguera, P. (2011). Education for socially engaged art. New York, NY: Jorge Pinto Books.

Hetland, L., Winner, E., Veneema, S., & Sheridan ,K. (2007). Studio thinking: the real benefits of visual arts education. New York, NY: Teacher’s College Press.

Kester, G.H. (2004). Conversation pieces: Community and communication in modern art. Berkely: University of California Press.

Richardson, J. (2010). Interventionist art education: Contingent communities, social dialogue, and public collaboration. Studies in art education, 52(1), 18-33

Webb, D. (2014). Placemaking and social equity: Expanding the framework of creative placemaking. Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts, 3(1), 35-48.

Wheatley, M. (2002). Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2016-08-23

Issue

Vol. 8 (2016): Creative Placemaking

Section

Special Call - Creative Placemaking - 2016

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
    • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
    • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).