Create Reading Group on Socially Engaged Collaborative Art

Create is happy to invite artists and other interested socially engaged practitioners based in Ireland to become members of our virtual Reading Group. The Reading Group is coordinated by Create’s Cultural Diversity Researcher Evgeny Shtorn, and will have its first meeting on the 9th of June, from 1 to 2pm.

The group will meet twice a month to read and discuss articles, films, and online exhibitions related to different aspects of collaborative, socially engaged arts practice and other relevant social issues. This Reading Group has developed from the 2018 and 2019 Summer Schools on Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Practice, an Arts Council Artist in the Community Scheme initiative, devised and offered by Create and Counterpoints Arts. Summer School Alumni and other participants are invited to become part of our meetings not only as attendees, but also as discussants, or moderators. Participants are welcome to propose materials that will inform the discussions. We would like to touch on a number of different nonetheless interconnected topics such as cultural diversity, social citizenship, identities, the role of art and artists in the society, practices of resilience, meaningful collaborations, ethics, and aesthetics in collaborative arts.

Our inaugural reading focuses on one of the most famous exhibitions in the history of socially engaged arts: ‘Living as Form’ (Brian Holmes: “Eventwork: The Fourfold Matrix of Contemporary Social Movements,” in Living as Form, ed. Nato Thompson (New York: Creative Time, 2012)). Brian Holmes reflects among other things, on virus (HIV) and struggle (Act Up), making this text particularly interesting and timely.

The Reading Group will take place at lunch time (1pm) and take one hour. This is not a formal group, but participants are encouraged to attend regularly and ensure they have read the text in advance. This will help us to keep these meetings focused and consistent. Our first meeting is planned for the 9th of June and from then every second Tuesday from 1 to 2 pm.

In order to join the group, please email Evgeny (EvgenyShtorn[at]create-ireland.ie). In advance of the meeting, he will email you with the text, and all necessary details for attending the online meeting.