During my last art education class – Contemporary Issues – I decided that I wanted my final project to be something that I could use to actually help my town. I hope to be able to find out if art can be used as a healing force in order to change the dynamics of a community by creating an atmosphere that promotes the appreciation for local arts efforts and contributes to community identity and civic pride.
This research study will be a result of watching my hometown decline during the past 40 years. As I look at my hometown, I can’t help but compare it to the town it was when I was in high school in the early 70’s. There was an actual sense of community that was obvious. Today, that feeling is gone. A majority of the population are living below the poverty level and are on government assistance. Due to the fracturing of this society, as well as the cultural differences, there is little productive communication or collaboration. I had plans to start my own art intervention within my town using the medium of mosaics in combination with intergenerational communication, but due to a family emergency I have had to put this off. Hopefully this research will just give me more ammunition to use in order to affect change in my town.
I ran across an interesting website that ties in with what I wanted to do for my town. This blog is about a project that a mosaic artist completed in Haiti right after the earthquake. Click on the photo to be directed to the site.
Some possible questions:
- How has the creation of community art changed the dynamics of a community?
- How has community art been used to encourage collaboration between the school and the community?
- How has community art been used to develop a dialogue between the school and the community?
Stutman, N. (2001). Art changes lives (Urban Art Trail). Letter Arts Review, 16(1), 24-33.
Marche, T. (1998). Looking outward, looking in: community in art education. Art Education, 51(3), 6-13.
Alexenberg, M., Benjamin, M. (2004). Creating public art through intergenerational collaboration. Art Education, 57(5), 13-18.
Thank you for the link to that project Rhonda! So beautiful. Mosaic is the best, so beautiful and lasting. Good questions and lovely map!
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ReplyDeleteRhonda,
Berkley county, WV has some interesting collaborative community arts projects. This link explains a creative lid art project. I wonder how this collaboration helped the community? We have many communities that are left "jobless" but I wonder if art can motivate people to think "out side of their box" of sadness? It's a different type of "devastation" that slowly eats away at a small dying town. Drug abuse is beginning to reek havoc on our county, due to lack of jobs and positive activities. Maybe, Arts is alternative to drugs!
The Marche article is a good reference.
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteYou and Sandra have similar topics and also similar issues with your research questions: too many, too broad. Check out Sandra's post where I commented and left specific ways that she (and you) can think about narrowing your question to something that is both exciting and researchable.