[PARTNERSHIPS

IN PARTICIPATORY ART]

A CRITICAL ACTION PLAN

STUDENT NAME: Kiara Toti

COURSE NAME: Contemporary Issues in Art Education

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 03/26/2017

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Anniina Suominen

 Participatory Art Background and Overview
This Critical Action Plan addresses the presence of participatory art, praxis and pedagogy in

the art classroom. The paper suggests that some of the barriers preventing the authentic inclusion

of participatory art practices in schools comes from a lack of resources available to teachers on the

subject, as well as the absence of a precedent for discussing participatory art in the classroom, and

a lack of networking opportunities between participatory artists and teachers. The Critical Action

Plan attempts to address these issues, by creating, promoting, providing, and maintaining a

functioning network of educators, artists, and programs interested in the inclusion and use of

participatory art projects and methods in K-12 schools. Furthermore, the plan provides these

members with continuous resources featuring updated information on current opportunities,

developments, and innovations related to participatory art. The plan also intends to create a

database of member names and their contact information, to be used as a resource by and for

members to contact and collaborate with one another. This may be in the form of a social

networking page, such as a Facebook group dedicated to connecting art teachers with participatory

artists, artworks, and projects.

Participatory art is an art-making approach where the audience is directly involved in the

creative process behind the piece (Holmes, 2011). A participatory art project, in theory, would not

exist if it were not for the contributions from the audience. Participatory art stands in contrast to

the conventional Western interpretation of art, which views art as a good or service produced by

artists, to be then consumed by a passive audience (Floryan, 2010).

Unlike other styles of art that are commonly viewed as belonging to their respective art

movements, or ones that are traced topically to specific periods in time, participatory art is not a

distinct genre--instead, it is a concept and methodology with scattered origins, involving

decentralized applications that span across movements and genres (Pollock, 2011). The lack of

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clarity surrounding the definition of participatory art has remained an issue since the terms

inception, when, in 1980, the phrase first appeared in an article reviewing an art exhibition

featuring the works of three artists anonymously installed throughout a Santa Barbara

neighborhood; in the review, the author suggests that the shows artists bore an implicit

responsibility to the Santa Barbara community, and thus, their artwork could be considered

participatory in nature (Behner, 2003).

While this initial context defines participatory art based on a notional relationship between

artist and audience, one of the fundamental principles of participatory art today relies on its

emphasis on authentically egalitarian measures--requiring that artists contribute an equal or lesser

amount towards the creation of an artwork, while maintaining an equal or lesser amount of control,

as compared to the power wielded and exercised by the participating audience (Pollock, 2011).

This emphasis on shared divisions of labor, power, and control between artist and audience makes

the participatory art approach distinct from other art movements associated with audience

participation, i.e., relational aesthetics, community-based art, interactive, or socially-engaged art.

Beyond simply allowing audience participation, participatory art offers the audience the agency of

creation.

While the term itself was not in common use until the 1980s, the beginnings of participatory

art practices trace their origins back to the work of Augusto Boal, a Brazilian theater director, who

developed a theatrical program known as Theater of the Oppressed in the 1960s (Holmes, 2011). It

was one of the first attempts by artists to encourage the audience to adopt an active role over a

passive one, as a gesture of liberation. This tradition continued, as exemplified in participatory

artworks from recent years, like Spencer Tunicks nakedscapes, involving the artists multi-city

escapades photographing crowds of hundreds of people standing in the nude in public spaces, in

the name of peace (Holmes, 2011). The 2,400 participants involved in Antony Gormleys One &

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Other, however, were allowed a full hour each to revel in their anger as they shouted obscenities

alone at the top of Trafalgar Square to the crowd below (Holmes, 2011). Both Gormleys and

Tunicks pieces represent participatory art practices in contemporary art spaces.

The many benefits of participatory art seem self-evident: they provide viewers with a better

understanding of the work, and result in more time appreciating the art (Floryan, 2010). They also

sometimes result in emotional catharsis, such as in Yoko Onos 2004 piece, My Mommy Is Beautiful,

Marina Abramovics dangerous Rhythm 0 of 1974, and David Belts Glassphemy! of 2010 (Floryan,

2010). Viewers also personally respond and relate to the immediacy and instant gratification that

participatory art provides to a plugged in society accustomed to interactivity, spending much of

their time posting comments online (Floryan, 2010). Art museums are becoming increasingly savvy

in seeing the business benefits of interactivity by catering to the publics need for instant access and

involvement, increasing their use of digital and web-oriented resources such as iPhone apps, social

media, online galleries, and touch-screens. The most business-oriented museums are developing

ways to conserve, own, and monetize conceptual participatory works (Floryan, 2010).

Pollock (2011) contends, however, that although many participatory art models and artists

mention democracy and democratic dynamics as being of prime importance to their works, this

perspective is not necessarily a priority of all participatory art pursuits. Artist Harrell Fletchers

work, for example, might be considered to be especially democratic to most visitors, considering

the fact that Fletcher is notably absent during his performances (as compared to the artworks of

Marina Abramovic or Rirkrit Tiravanija). However, Fletcher claims, I never say that my work is

totally democratic, and, Within my work I make lots and lots of decisions and I am the one making

those decisions (Pollock, 2011). Therefore, while some particpatory art projects explicitly outline

their democratic missions, other works are concerned with exemplifying participatory

relationships through more implicit means and approaches.

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 Summary of Critical Action Plan

Overall Objectives

1. To create, promote, provide, and maintain a functioning network of educators, artists, and

programs interested in the inclusion and use of participatory art projects and methods in K-

12 schools

2. To provide these members with continuous resources offering updated information on

current opportunities, developments, and innovations related to participatory art

3. To use the group's list of names to construct a database of individuals, artists, and

organizations, that serves as a resource and platform for members to contact other

members, thus opening up significantly more opportunities for networking, collaboration,

and creativity amongst individuals interested in participatory art methods

Specific Aims

Details of the proposed action plan are as follows:

1. To begin the project, the initiative requires that I first research participatory art-inspired

creators, artists, and programs that either:

a. Express a similar mission to the missions described in this Action Plan, or

b. Have a history of conducting projects at schools, or often serve audiences that

include teachers and educators

When a participatory art project meets either one of these two criteria, it provides reasonable

evidence for me to believe there is a possibility that our projects share mutual ambitions or

interests--only at this point will I begin to attempt to contact the artist or organization, and initiate

a discussion around the purpose of the initiative. These conditions have been established in

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recognition of the fact that it is rude to harass artists to incorporate another person's initiative

when it is not even relevant to the artist's work. However, while I will not solicit responses from

these artists, the initiative welcomes any artists that independently express a desire to form a

partnership with the project.

2. An initial attempt to contact an artist will normally involve communicating two main

objectives:

a. A brief introduction to the intended mission and purpose behind the initiative,

including a short statement on how the artist's work might relate

b. An invitation containing a proposal to form a possible "partnership." A

"partnership" involves the artist's agreement to include a sign-up sheet at their

participatory event(s), asking for the contact information of any teachers, educators,

or other participants that are interested in learning more about participatory art.

Artists may preface or introduce the sign-up sheet to their audience, though this is

not a requirement. The artist can take a picture of sign-up sheets containing new

entries using the camera on their phone, and then email these images to the

initiative's email address.

3. Individuals who sign up for more information will receive an initial pamphlet in the mail

describing participatory art practices, and the aims of the initiative. They will also be

registered to receive a monthly email newsletter containing updates and information on

participatory art projects and research. Newsletters will place attention on the presence

and need for participatory art projects in schools and the classroom. All monthly

newsletters contain a section dedicated to sharing stories from teachers and other

individuals discussing their experiences of incorporating participatory practices in the

classroom. Readers of the newsletter are encouraged to submit their own stories to be

featured in the section.

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Note: An example of a mock newsletter will be included with this Critical Action Plan

4. A database containing a list of member names and their contact information will be

included as a resource available to members interested in networking with other members

in the group. This could exist as a Facebook group page. Inclusion in the social networking

forum/database is optional.

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References

Behner, T. V. (2003). Identity, status, and power: the architecture of contemporary art
exhibition in Los Angeles.
Finkelpearl, T. (2014). Participatory Art. In M. Kelly (Ed.), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
AESTHETICS. Oxford University Press.
Floryan, M. (2010, June 3). Interactive and Participatory Art. Retrieved February 2017, from
Art21 Magazine: http://magazine.art21.org/2010/06/03/interactive-and-participatory-
art/#.WK4wfRIrLVp
Harman, R., & Varga-Dobai, K. (2012). Critical Performative Pedagogy: Emergent Bilingual
Learners Challenge Local Immigration Issues. International Journal of Multicultural
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Holmes, K. (2011, May 18). Creativity Bytes: A Brief Guide To Participatory Art. Retrieved
February 2017, from Creators: https://creators.vice.com/en_us/article/creativity-bytes-a-
brief-guide-to-participatory-art
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress : education as the practice of freedom. New York:
Routledge.
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge.
Lewis, F. (n.d.). Participatory Art-Making and Civic Engagement. A Working Guide to the
Landscape of Arts for Change.
Pollack, B. (2011, January 01). You're Engaged! Retrieved February 2017, from ARTNEWS:
http://www.artnews.com/2011/01/01/youre-engaged/
Powell, K., & Serriere, S. (2013, October 22). Image-Based Participatory Pedagogies:
Reimagining Social Justice. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 14(15).
Sonvilla-Weiss, S. (2008). Art, Science and Education. In M. Alexenberg, Educating artists for
the future: learning at the intersections of art, science, technology, and culture. Chicago,
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Veroff, S. (2002, April). Participatory Art Research: Transcending Barriers and Creating
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