Artistic Citizenship : Artistry, Social Responsibility, and Ethical Praxis

"This first-of-its-kind compendium unites perspectives from artists, scholars, arts educators, policymakers, and activists to investigate the complex system of values surrounding artistic-educational endeavors. Addressing a range of artistic domains-including music, dance, theater, visual arts, film, and poetry-contributors explore and critique the conventions that govern our interactions with these practices. Artistic Citizenship focuses on the social responsibilities and functions of amateur and professional artists and examines ethical issues that are conventionally dismissed in discourses on these topics. The questions this book addresses include: How does the concept of citizenship relate to the arts? What sociocultural, political, environmental, and gendered "goods" can artistic engagements create for people worldwide? Do particular artistic endeavors have distinctive potentials for nurturing artistic citizenship? What are the most effective strategies in the arts to institute change and/or resist local, national, and world problems? What obligations do artists and consumers of art have to facilitate relationships between the arts and citizenship? How can artistic activities contribute to the eradication of adverse 'ism's? A substantial accompanying website features video clips of "artivism" in action, videotaped interviews with scholars and practitioners working in a variety of spaces and places, a blog, and supplementary resources about existing and emerging initiatives. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, Artistic Citizenship is an essential text for artists, scholars, policymakers, educators, and students."--Publisher's website. Read more... Abstract: "This first-of-its-kind compendium unites perspectives from artists, scholars, arts educators, policymakers, and activists to investigate the complex system of values surrounding artistic-educational endeavors. Addressing a range of artistic domains-including music, dance, theater, visual arts, film, and poetry-contributors explore and critique the conventions that govern our interactions with these practices. Artistic Citizenship focuses on the social responsibilities and functions of amateur and professional artists and examines ethical issues that are conventionally dismissed in discourses on these topics. The questions this book addresses include: How does the concept of citizenship relate to the arts? What sociocultural, political, environmental, and gendered "goods" can artistic engagements create for people worldwide? Do particular artistic endeavors have distinctive potentials for nurturing artistic citizenship? What are the most effective strategies in the arts to institute change and/or resist local, national, and world problems? What obligations do artists and consumers of art have to facilitate relationships between the arts and citizenship? How can artistic activities contribute to the eradication of adverse 'ism's? A substantial accompanying website features video clips of "artivism" in action, videotaped interviews with scholars and practitioners working in a variety of spaces and places, a blog, and supplementary resources about existing and emerging initiatives. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, Artistic Citizenship is an essential text for artists, scholars, policymakers, educators, and students."--Publisher's website Content: Foundational Considerations -- Dance/Movement-based Arts -- Media & Technology -- Music -- Poetry/Storytelling -- Theater -- Visual Arts. Part I. Foundational considerations. Artistic citizenship: introduction, aims, and overview / David J. Elliott, Marissa Silverman, and Wayne D. Bowman Art and citizenship: the history of a divorce / David Wiles New York reimagined: artists, arts organizations, and the rebirth of a city / Mary Schmidt Campbell Artistry, ethics, and citizenship / Wayne D. Bowman Arts education as/for artistic citizenship / Marissa Silverman and David J. Elliott Art as a bad public good / Ana Vujanović -- Part II. Dance/Movement-based arts. Movement potentials and civic engagement: an interview / Liz Lerman Dance it, film it, share it: exploring participatory dances and civic potential / Sangita Shresthova Moving comfortably between continuity and disruption: somatics and urban dance as embodied responses to civic responsibility / Naomi M. Jackson Re/imagining artivism / Rodney Diverlus -- Part III. Media and technology. Queer and trans people of color community arts collective: Ste-Émilie Skillshare / Sandra Jeppesen, Anna Kruzynski, and Coco Riot Slow FAST forward: enacting digital art and civic opportunities / Jennifer Parker Tactical citizenship: straddling the line between community and contestation / Eric Kluitenberg Ghostly testimonies: re-enactment and ethical responsibility in contemporary Israeli documentary cinema / Raz Yosef and Yaara Ozery -- Part IV. Music. Music, social change, and alternative forms of citizenship / Thomas Turino Citizens or subjects? El Sistema in critical perspective / Geoffrey Baker Arts-based service learning with indigenous communities: engendering artistic citizenship / Brydie-Leigh Bartleet and Gavin Carfoot Alchemies of sanctioned value: music, networks, law / Martin Scherzinger -- Part V. Poetry/Storytelling. The points are not the point, but do they still matter? A practitioner's take on spoken word, slam poetry, and the responsibility of artists to engage their audiences / Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre Poet as citizen in a contested nation: rewriting the poetry of Soviet-occupied Afghanistan / Aria Fani Songs of passage and sacrifice: Gabriella Ghermandi's stories in performance / Laura Dolp and Eveljn Ferraro -- Part VI. Theater. Applied theater and citizenship in the Puerto Rican community: artistic citizenship in practice / David T. Montgomery Performing citizenship: performance art and public happiness / Sibylle Peters Valuing performance: purposes at play in participatory theater practice / Nicola Shaughnessy -- Part VII. Visual arts. A new letter named square / Coco Guzman Working all the time: artistic citizenship in the 21st century / Diane Mullin Image as ignorant schoolmaster: a lesson in democratic equality / Tyson Lewis. Cover 1 Artistic Citizenship 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Contributors 12 PART I Foundational Considerations 26 1. Artistic Citizenship: Introduction, Aims, and Overview 28 2. Art and Citizenship: The History of a Divorce 47 3. New York Reimagined: Artists, Arts Organizations, and the Rebirth of a City 66 4. Artistry, Ethics, and Citizenship 84 5. Arts Education as/​for Artistic Citizenship 106 6. Art as a Bad Public Good 129 PART II Dance/ Movement- Based Arts 148 7. Movement Potentials and Civic Engagement: An Interview 150 8. Dance It, Film It, Share It: Exploring Participatory Dances and Civic Potential 171 9. Moving Comfortably Between Continuity and Disruption: Somatics and Urban Dance as Embodied Responses to Civic Responsibility 188 10. Re/​imagining Artivism 214 PART III Media and Technology 236 11. Queer and Trans People of Color Community Arts Collective: Ste-​Émilie Skillshare 238 12. Slow FAST Forward: Enacting Digital Art and Civic Opportunities 258 13. Tactical Citizenship: Straddling the Line Between Community and Contestation 279 14. Ghostly Testimonies: Re-​enactment and Ethical Responsibility in Contemporary Israeli Documentary Cinema 297 PART IV Music 320 15. Music, Social Change, and Alternative Forms of Citizenship 322 16. Citizens or Subjects? El Sistema in Critical Perspective 338 17. Arts-​Based Service Learning with Indigenous Communities: Engendering Artistic Citizenship 364 18. Alchemies of Sanctioned Value: Music, Networks, Law 384 PART V Poetry/ Storytelling 404 19. The Points Are Not the Point, But Do They Still Matter? A Practitioner’s Take on Spoken Word, Slam Poetry, and the Responsibility of Artists to Engage Their Audiences 406 20. Poet as Citizen in a Contested Nation: Rewriting the Poetry of Soviet-​Occupied Afghanistan 417 21. Songs of Passage and Sacrifice: Gabriella Ghermandi’s Stories in Performance 440 PART VI Theater 470 22. Applied Theater and Citizenship in the Puerto Rican Community: Artistic Citizenship in Practice 472 23. Performing Citizenship: Performance Art and Public Happiness 494 24. Valuing Performance: Purposes at Play in Participatory Theater Practice 505 PART VII Visual Arts 536 25. A New Letter Named Square 538 26. Working All the Time: Artistic Citizenship in the 21st Century 546 27. Image as Ignorant Schoolmaster: A Lesson in Democratic Equality 574 Author Index 588 Subject Index 600 Artistic Citizenship: Artistry, Social Responsibility, and Ethical Praxis examines the many ways that artists (amateur and professional), community artist-facilitators, educators, and scholars in music, dance/movement, theater, visual arts, poetry/storytelling, and media and technology conceive and deploy their abilities to advance democratic citizenship and human flourishing in local, national, and international contexts. Among the questions this book addresses are the following: What is the nature and scope of artistic citizenship? How do artists and scholars in different domains conceive the aims, concepts, practical strategies, problems, and “spaces and places” of artistic citizenship? What are the most effective strategies that artists, teachers, and students use to address local, national, and world problems, including violence and international conflicts, poverty, disease, and gender and racial discrimination? What qualities and abilities do amateur and professional artists need to practice, develop, and expand artistic citizenship? What connections exist between ethical-artistic action and artistic citizenship? What is the history of conceptualizing the “why, what, how, who, where, and when” of artistic citizenship? Do particular artistic endeavors have distinctive potentials for nurturing artistic citizenship? If so, what might they be? How can artistic citizenship be pursued without compromising the natures and values of particular artistic practices? What can arts education programs do to motivate artists of all ages and abilities to better serve their communities? How might artistic endeavors informed by a pragmatic “ethic of care” contribute to positive societal change? Artistic Citizenship: Artistry, Social Responsibility, and Ethical Praxis brings together a wide range of perspectives of amateur and professional artists, art educators, and scholars who endeavor to be ""artivists"" for change. These artists explain the strategies they use--and the problems and dangers they encounter-when developing and applying their ethical artistry around the globe