ART AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
CULTUUR + EDUCATIE 17 (2006)

In cooperation with researcher Sandra Trienekens (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Cultuurnetwerk conducted a study on social engagement in art projects, better known as Community Arts. This edition presents the report.

Aim of the study
The aim of the study was to clarify the relationship between art and society and to research how this relationship influences the form of socially engaged art projects. The point of these projects is the interaction between artists and participants. The driving force that motivates the artist is critical reflection on the established order of the arts and/or the established social order.

Different forms
The research was done in two phases. In the first phase, the researchers took an inventory of socially engaged art projects in the Netherlands, which resulted in Cultuurnetwerk’s database of Community Arts Projects.

The second phase of the research is described in this publication. A literature study was used to describe and analyse the various forms of socially engaged art projects (encounter arts, community arts, pop art, etc.). The analysis established a link with the data from the database, supplemented by information from a number of in-depth interviews with some of the artists involved.

Dilemmas
Consideration of the relationship between art and society presents a number of recurring dilemmas. First, the emphasis is focused solely on either the artistic characteristics or the social or ideological characteristics of socially engaged art. Moreover, the artistic value of this form of art is often debated. Finally, the ideas of socially engaged artists seem not to be grasped easily.

Conclusions
Socially engaged art is presented in a form that is anything but unambiguous. A clear distinction between the different forms might help prevent confusion. The study also shows that artistic and societal intentions can be united without any problems. After the two have been combined, the debate about whether it is art or welfare would seem superfluous. The underdog position of community art can primarily be explained by the influence policy has on this form of art.
Dutch overview