Art. Isn’t it All ‘Socially Engaged’?

Spectacles, stuff that gets you thinking and creativity for the greater good.

My personal favourite term is Socially Engaged Art. I shorten it to SEA because I agree it feels like a mouthful when compared to ‘community’ or ‘public’ art. All art is a reflection on human society and is therefore innately social. Yet, art (or the creator of it) doesn’t have to be aware of its socialness. It doesn’t have to care in the slightest. SEA, on the other hand, is active, it’s aware of social issues and topics and engages with them. Socially Engaged hits the nail on the head for me.

The recent infamous Just Stop Oil protests — throwing soup at Van Gogh could be claimed as a work of art in itself. It made you think, didn’t it? Maybe that’s what it should be called. Remove it from the care of the art world, with its questionable ethics and suspicious activity, and just call it “stuff that makes you think”.

Like Ai Wei Wei pinning 9,000 children’s backpacks to the wall of the Haus der Kunst in Munich to mourn the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.

Or Kalieder’s PIG; an open piggy bank, placed in public spaces in cities around Europe as a social experiment on community decision-making.

Makes you think.

At the end of the day, the name of it doesn’t deserve too much discussion. Whatever you call it, I’m interested in it because it’s the stuff created at the intersection of unique perspectives, creative ideas and important social issues. Besides, thinking is only one part of it. Awareness, and dialogue. That’s where we start breaking down barriers and pulling off blindfolds. The next step is action. If art can drive action for good then it’s worth it. I approve of its existence.

I pledge to bring you examples of Socially Engaged Art from its origin to its present. From all time zones and many perspectives. Tell me the art and artists you admire — I want to know about them all. I’ll be here reading and writing about it and the important issues it highlights. Check back in if you’re interested.

And if not, thanks for reading anyway.