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

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 higher education institutions in the UK have to offer.
The Art of Engagement was an AHRC funded networking project that took place over a year from April 2022 to explore how the teaching of social practice could be improved for arts practitioners through partnership between cultural and higher education institutions as well as collaboration across national boundaries. This was investigated via a collaboration between Middlesex University and the Tate Gallery in partnership with Queens Museum and City University of New York, drawing on the specific experience of each institution in its support or education for social engagement in art.