ART
AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
SANART
6th International Symposium, Workshops and Art Events
May 1-3, 2002
METU Cultural
and Convention Center, Ankara
Organized By
SANART, Association of Aesthethics and Visual Culture
in collaboration with
Middle East Technical University
Symposium
Concept
The 6th International
Symposium which will be organised by the Sanart Association of Aesthetics
and Visual Culture, with the cooperation of the Middle East Technical
University and Faculty of Architecture, will be devoted to the theme
of ART and SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT. The three day symposium will also
host exhibitions of work that has been produced within the context
of social or ecological work, and workshops where artists will work
with children, or various public groups with the intention of some
social contribution.
This symposium
is organized in response to the need for an awareness of the vital
and practical role of art and artists in society and it is hoped
that museums and other institutions in Ankara will benefit from
the discussions and the examples offered.
The concerns
that are occupying artists today are various and range all the way
from ecology to geriatrics. Art, with its power of emphaty can become
a medium in helping with many issues, cultural and natural. The
use of art in social problems does not always take place with the
initiative of artists, although inevitably at some point artists
get involved. There have been many cases where individuals have
applied to artists for help for work in corrective or mental institutions,
with patients, with children, with the elderly and the disables.
In intellectual circles where equality and inclusion is a growing
concern, art becomes a way of breaking social boundaries and helping
people make themselves seen and heard.
On the other
hand, museums, which increasingly care about widening their appeal
to people of all ages, backgrounds and interests, involve artists
and art to draw the public and to create ever closer and informal
relationships. The question is now more how to involve the common
person in the museum. This is one of the most important areas of
research for museum experts.
In times of
severe crisis and catastrophy, art may at first not surface as a
useful tool. However, the earthquake of 1999 in Turkey has shown
how much architecture, photography and city planning could be practical
and useful, and how much all the arts play a role in pulling people
out of their depression and loneliness and in creating social communication.
There are many
medical and social institutions in the world where artists are either
employed or work on a volunteer basis, and there are also many known
cases where artists use their own initiatives to contribute to society
and to the amelioration of problems.
Practical
data
The three day
symposium will deal with the above mentioned issues of artistic
practice in social fields both in relating real examples and on
a theoretical basis where ethics and aesthetics, art and politics,
arts role in the social domain and the question of engagement and
arts autonomy will be discussed.
It is hoped
that participants will come from various fields where such art practice
has been active. Therefore not only be artists, but also administrators,
museum staff, and educators will be invited to the Symposium.
There will be
simultaneous translation only to English and Turkish. However guests
from France, Germany and Italy will be able to speak in their own
languages and there will be translation from these languages.
The proceedings
will be published by the Sanart Association at the Middle East Technical
University Press in the original languages and in English.
Themes
and Session Subjects planned for the Program of the Symposium:
Art and Engagement
Aesthetics and Ethics The Question of Autonomy
Art and Ecology Art with Children Art and Social Help Photography
as a Social Tool -The Public and Museums Art in the streets
Artists at Schools Architecture as a Social Tool Rehabilitation
of derelict zones and settlements
Download
Symposium Concept&Invitation in PDF : Concept
in Turkish
Symposium
Concept | Symposium
Program | Exhibitions | Workshops
| Participants
| Papers | Organization
