Articles

ARTICLES

Journal Articles
(as part of ASC! Project Research Outputs)

Murray M, Sivaraman S, Calle K, Spiegel JB, De Bois J, Yassi A, Quizhpe A, “Fear, Wonder and Learning: reimagining the human-microbe story.”  Antennae: the Journal of Nature in Visual Culture 35. Forthcoming Spring 2016. Print.

Spiegel, Jennifer B. “Performing ‘In The Red’: Transformations and Tensions in Repertoires of Contestation during the 2012 Quebec Student Strike.” Social Movement Studies: Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Protest. Forthcoming, 2016. Print.

Yassi, Annalee, Stephanie Parent,  Jennifer Spiegel, Arlene Goldbard, et al. “Re-framing the evaluation conundrum in a 5-year multi-institutional arts-for-social-change partnership: a multi-scalar, context-specific, theory-driven approach.” Journal to be decided. Forthcoming, 2016.

Yassi A, Lockhart K, Fels L, Spiegel JB, Marcuse J, Boydell K. “Ethics in Community-University-Artist Partnered Research: Tensions, Contradictions and Gaps Identified Mid-Way in a Five-year Multi-Institutional “arts for social change’ project.” Journal of Academic Ethics. April 7 2016. Print.

Doolittle, Lisa, Callista Chasse, Corey Makoloski, Pamela Boyd, et al. “May I have this dance? teaching performing and transforming in a university-community mixed-ability dance theatre project.” Theatre Research in Canada. 2016.

Spiegel, Jennifer B. “Masked Protest in the Age of Austerity: State Violence, Anonymous Bodies, and Resistance “In the Red”.” Critical Inquiry 41.4 (2015): 786-810. Web.

Spiegel, Jennifer B. “Rêve Général Illimité? the Role of Creative Protest in Transforming the Dynamics of Space and Time during the 2012 Quebec Student Strike.” Antipode 47.3 (2015): 770-91. Web.

Spiegel, Jennifer B., Maria-Christina Breilh, Arturo Campan˜a, Judith Marcuse & Annalee Yassi. “Social circus and health equity: Exploring the national social circus program in Ecuador.” Arts & Health 7:1 (2015): 65-74. Web.

Interviews, Newspaper and Magazine Articles
(as part of ASC! Project Research Outputs)

Marcuse, Judith. “New masters program uses art for social change.” By Erika Loggin. The Peak. Jan 25, 2016. Web.

Smith, Janet. “The 10 biggest arts stories of 2015, from a wooden tower to a new opera fest.” The Georgia Straight, Dec 29 2015. Web.

Marcuse, Judith. “New M.Ed in Arts for Social Change at SFU.” The Dance Current. Dec 15 2015. Web. 

Mahoney, Tara. “‘Not-a-Party’ election party celebrates nonpartisan politics.” By Kevin Rey.  The Peak. Oct 13 2015. Web.

Mahoney, Tara. “Could this be the election that breaks Canadians’ political apathy?” By Tom Sandborn. iPOLITICS. Oct 9 2015. Web.

Mahoney, Tara “Four Heartening Hints Young Voters Are Paying Attention.” By Tom Sandborn. The Tyee. Oct 8 2015. Web.

Doolittle, Lisa. “The Arts in Action: Liberal education gets creative and inclusive.” Edited interview. Light on Teaching. The Teaching Centre. Sep 2015. Web.

Mahoney, Tara. “Encouraging and engaging voters through art.” The Vancouver Sun. Aug 28 2015. Web.

Mahoney, Tara. “Creative Publics art project aims to inspire young voters in Vancouver.” By Stephen Hui. The Georgia Straight. Aug 19 2015. Web.

Flynn, Anne. “Parkinsons dancers perform at High Performance Rodeo.” By Stephen Hunt. The Calgary Herald. Jan 19 2015. Web.

Flynn, Anne. “Using dance as Parkinson’s therapy.” UToday. University of Calgary. Feb 4 2014. Web.

Marcuse, Judith. “How Art Will Save the World.” The Venture. n.d. Web.

Published Conference Proceedings
(as part of ASC! Project Research Outputs)

Spiegel, Jennifer B. “Of Spectacle and Collective Resistance: Rethinking the relationships between ‘Symbolic’ and ‘Direct’ Action” in Radicalism.” In Giguère, Nicholas, Michaël Fortier, and Catherine Dumont. “Action radicale, sujet radical: racines, représentations, symboles et créations.” «Action radicale, sujet radical: racines, représentations, symboles et créations»/«Radical action, radical subject: roots, representations, symbols and creations». Éditions de l’Université de Sherbrooke (ÉDUS). 2015. Web. 

Spiegel, Jennifer, B. “Social Circus as an Art for Social Change: promoting social inclusion and cultural democracy.” In Culture has an Impact! University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. Feb 2014. Web.

The below five articles explore Theatre of the Oppressed as a qualitative research method. Thanks to Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre for sharing these great resources!

1) “Your Story/My Story/Our Story: Performing Interpretation in Participatory Theatre” 

Butterwick (2002, UBC) led an intensive series of workshops where she and her co-facilitators interviewed 12 women about conflicts within feminist organizing, and then performed their stories back to them in order to understand processes of solidarity and conflict resolution.

2) “This is the embodiment of empowerment: use of forum theatre to address tobacco use in community psychiatry“

Malchy, Johnson, and McBride (2011, UBC) used Forum Theatre to deliver information about the effects of tobacco use among people with mental illnesses, and to encourage a re-examination of personal values and practices around tobacco use. They found that Forum Theatre fostered connectedness among participants and empowered them to take steps to change their health behaviours; thus it was successful both as a therapeutic method and as an educational tool.

3) “Innovations in Sexual-Theological Activism: Queer Theology Meets Theatre of the Oppressed“

Mesner (2010, UBC), a queer reverend, comes from the perspective of queer theology to suggest Theatre of the Oppressed as a strategic intervention for addressing religiously-motivated homophobic violence. She notes that directions may include evaluative measurement and group interviews.

4) “Theater of the Oppressed as Critical Ethnography“

Dennis (2009) published in the International Journal of Qualitative Methods a document of her process using Theatre of the Oppressed in a long-term critical ethnography, and suggests a method of analysis for use by other researchers.

5) “Staging data: Theatre as a tool for analysis and knowledge transfer in health research“

Rossiter et al (2008) did a literature review of evaluated health research studies that used any of 4 different genres of theatre for data analysis or knowledge translation, and proposes how researchers might use theatre moving forward.

Other resources related to Art for Social Change (ASC)

Creative Renewal: How Art Can Save Us Now – Arlene Goldbard
Arlene Goldbard’s timely presentation from her recent visit to Vancouver. Creative Renewal: How Art Can Save Us Now. October 18th, 2009. Vancity Theatre at Vancouver International Film Centre.

EARTH=home Teacher’s Guide 2009
We are pleased to offer this brand new teacher’s guide and hope that it will inspire both you and your school colleagues.

Datastan Meets Storyland: Surfing the Zeitgeist Without Wiping Out
Arlene Goldbard’s presentation from Creative Conversations November 3rd, 2008.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Monitor
The CCPA Website contains many recommended papers and resources

Art for Social Change: A Call for Candour and Connection

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Reflections on Bridging the Gaps: A Chataqua Dialogue on Art for Social Change Practices (Thursday, June 23, 2016)

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On Thursday evening of June 23, 2016, I attended “Bridging the Gaps,” a Chataqua dialogue hosted by the Art for Social Change (ASC!) research project and facilitated by Judith Marcuse. The Chataqua participants were Art for Social Change (ASC) practitioners who represented a diverse range of experience and community-engaged arts work. These practitioners had worked closely with their communities throughout Metro Vancouver and BC. As someone who has only recently learnt about ASC, the event was, without any doubt, a great learning experience.

In this reflection, I want to highlight ideas about the importance of language, including in dialogue and in issues of accessibility. In the course I took in Spring 2016 with Professor Shayna Plaut, “Ethics and Qualitative Methods in Human Rights Work”, we discussed how important language can be to frame and understand an issue, as well as in defining one’s personal and professional identity.

Upon reflection, I realise that I would not have understood much of the conversation without having taken this Ethics course at SFU. Even though the class did not specifically teach me the ‘languages’ of ASC, there are overlaps between the fields of human rights work and ASC. These language overlaps stems from how both fields question the relationships between the different spheres of research, activism, community and the arts. More specifically, the ethics class I took taught me about the languages and frameworks in research and activism used by funders, stakeholders and institutions. This includes the challenges of gaining access to a community, working with them, and the ensuing responsibility to ethical and reciprocal practice. These overlapping themes echoed back and forth in the Chataqua dialogue. As an outsider stepping in to ASC, I can see that there are many access points into these languages – and that it is crucial that we work to make these accessible to others. The conversation was all in English, but I would not have really understood the references, the nuances and the particular definitions had I not been fortunate enough to be equipped with the basics of this language. I am also aware that I probably did not understand all of the nuances in the discussion. I very much look forward to learning more.

ASC practitioners, although in many ways speaking the same language, do not always agree on the meanings of certain words. They are in constant negotiation with each other, even as they appear to be discussing the same thing in the same room. The awareness of this underlying tension really helped me understand this dialogue as part of a dynamic process of shaping the languages of ASC.

For example, during this Chataqua dialogue, participants discussed the idea of “doing good”. Judith asked the group, “Are we here to “do good”?” Discussion opened up. Is this a primary motivation for making art for social change? Where do aesthetics fall into this? And what are the ethics and responsibilities behind the notion of trying to “do good” in a community? Interestingly, the participants agreed to disagree: “No, we are not here to “do good”” As a person just coming into this field (many of us seeking to “do good”), this question is perplexing. Could it be that “doing good” has a specific meaning I am not aware of? Perhaps it connotes a white savior complex or some kind of colonial perspective? – a common criticism of “doing good” initiatives. Admittedly, I do not know the answers, and the answer will probably vary from person to person, practitioner to practitioner. And as a newcomer, discussing the question of “Why are we here?” – is probably a good starting point.

Participants passionately raised and discussed their concern that art for social change has been struggling to find its own language. There was a lot of focus on the growing trendiness of “socially-engaged” art in all its forms. As soon as the language of socially-engaged art starts to catch on, shallow interpretations of the words like “engaged”, “social practice” and “community” are likely to become token buzzwords featured in guidelines created by funders.

We asked many questions, some of which were: “How can this language not be co-opted by medium-to-large institutions trying to do ‘quickie’ projects?” Where do we stand? What do we advocate for? Do we, in this room, share a language that we agree on? Answers weren’t developed in this dialogue, but it was clear that this concern is something artists and practitioners in this field are grappling with.

Judith raised a point about collaboration that I thought was very important. She said that for a long time there has been a disconnect between artists and researchers. There is a growing need for academics and artists to work together more. This is especially pertinent because research can do a great job to theorize, analyst and enrich the work that artists and activists do.

In a time where many funding cuts hit hard, addressing this issue, Judith proposed two scenarios: “crabs in a barrel” or collaboration. Not surprisingly, we are starting to see more an more “crabs in a barrel” situation as artists and organizations struggle from day to day just to survive financially. What we need is more collaboration between organizations – especially with those in other sectors who value the qualitative and quantitative impacts of ASC work that is also useful for them.

Another impression I got from the Chataqua discussion is that funders and juries want to see results that are quantifiable, numbers to measure how much art has impacted or benefited lives of human beings. They want quick, tangible results.

The group also agree that funders often ask them, “Why does it take so long to gain access and trust with some communities?” Do funders have the same level of expertise, experience and understanding of ASC? Why do funder not understand that community-engaged work takes time? Collaboration is not only important between academics and artists, or artists and other sectors – funders need to be part of the conversation. This may be naïve of me to think, seeing that the participants expressed that they have been met with tremendous resistance on many fronts. But what are the options?

In retrospect and conclusion, this dialogue has made me realize that most people haven’t learned or had an experience that will help them understand this field’s language or framework (for example, by reading relevant pieces, joining various ASC programs, participating in dialogues such as this one). How can future policy makers or the public make and advocate for better decisions when it is not easy to understand what ASC is? Reflecting on the importance of language and the challenges of finding a shared one, it is also not easy to explain the nuances of ASC. As challenging as it may be, current artist-practitioners and researchers must reach out and invite more people to join the conversation, as well as mentor younger people to continue the work in this important field.

Some final questions:

How do we invite more people to join this conversation, make it accessible and inclusive rather than “exclusive”? How do we make this conversation more accessible to the general public? How do we encourage people to start talking about art for social change and help make it a more widely accessible form of art and activism?

Special thanks to SFU Professor, Shayna Plaut, for giving me the foundations and the language to explore this realm which I find so fascinating. A lot of gratitude and respect to Judith marcuse, for including me in this Chataqua dialogue and taking time to guide me in the process. I have learnt a lot from everyone gathered there. Thank you to the most wonderful Kim Gilker and Nicole Armos for all your guidance and company – I cannot ask for better! Last, but not least, thank you to all the participants for coming and sharing your knowledge. I am very humbled to have attended this eye-opening dialogue.

Prodpran is a student at Simon Fraser University, entering her last year of undergraduate studies in International Studies with a concentration in International Development, Economics and Environmental Issues. Her areas of interest are human rights, food, arts and research. She has recently joined the ASC! Project’s communications team for the summer.