Overview

Guest Editor: Janet Pillai (Founder, Arts-ED / ALFP 2006 Fellow)

Artists are creative thinkers and makers. They are viewed as cultural agents who in the course of their work raise provocative questions and come up with humanistic interpretations and constructive interventions. Art, through critical and creative exploration, pushes society to engage thoughtfully with environmental, social and economic capital and conflicts. In recent times artistic initiatives have begun to involve and provoke public participation and co-production. Going by a variety of names, such as place-making, art and social justice, artistic activism, community-based art, socially-engaged practice, or participatory art, these practices are aimed at improving the quality of life for citizens and are led by a variety of creative practitioners, such as writers, architects, designers, filmmakers, visual artists, and dramatists. While claiming to contribute to social, cultural or environmental betterment and providing a voice to communities, some initiatives and collaborations have also drawn criticism. In this series practitioners and scholars from the region will discuss how artists or creative collaborations have fared in fueling cultural energy, critical thinking or innovation to make a difference to communities.