Public Practices / Social Practice
Art 160 final projects, Fall 2019.
Courses in Public Practice focus on short-term, temporary projects that engage publics, foster critical discourse, and focus on participatory art making strategies. Past course themes have included: placemaking, radical archives, publications and zines, food ecologies, social justice, goods and services, and alternative pedagogies. Also referred to as social practice, this field is interdisciplinary in nature and promotes research, investigation, and collective inquiry.
The Public Practices program resides in two adjacent facilities: The Project Lab (178 Bauer Wurster Hall), a 1,000 square foot flexible space housing a publication studio and sewing facilities; and Platform (Wurster South Courtyard), a new community engagement space that opened in Fall 2019.
In addition to taking courses in Art Practice, students from all disciplines and majors can engage in public practices by proposing projects to exhibit at Platform. Platform is directed by Professor Jill Miller, and collectively run by Art Practice students. Platform prioritizes projects that: thrive outside of traditional art spaces, are initiated by people who are underrepresented in art museums (people of color, women, artists with disabilities, and LGBTQ+), and center on community engagement and collaborative practices. Applications for proposing a project will open in the Fall. For more information, visit the Platform page on the Art Practice website, or the Platform website.
Courses rotate between these selections:
ART 160: Special Topics in Visual Studies
ART 163: Social Practice: Critical Site and Context
ART C166 / NWMEDIA C166: Critical Practices: People, Places, Participation
Location: 178 Bauer Wurster Hall and Wurster South Courtyard
Lab use: Access to these spaces is reserved for students enrolled in Social Practice courses and to graduate students in Art Practice.
Facilities/Materials fee: varies per class
Faculty oversight:
Jill Miller, Assistant Professor
Stephanie Syjuco, Associate Professor
The Art 163 Social Practice class (Fall 2014) designed ART SCHOOL X, an experimental art school within the Department of Art Practice, and programmed a lecture series and workshops to address student needs.
