Date of Award
6-2018
Degree Type
Research Paper
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Community Development and Planning (CDP)
Department
International Development, Community and Environment
Chief Instructor
Kathryn Madden
Second Reader
Ramon Borges-Mendez
Keywords
social justice, community based, art practice, placemaking, refugee, local
Abstract
ABSTRACT
ARTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: THE ROLE OF CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS IN BUILDING COMMUNITY
HANNAH ROMIG
This research paper will examine how art can be used as a tool for community development and social change, using a community arts program in one city’s multi-cultural district as a case study. Research will be conducted using a variety of methods, including quantitative data analysis and qualitative data collection. Interviews with key informants and organizations will be a primary source of qualitative data. Observations and census data will be used to supplement information gathered from interviews. This particular community arts program employs principles of organizational sustainability, placemaking, and collaboration in its art-based development practices. Because art-based community development is not issue-based work, the art-based movement for creating social change challenges traditional activism and organizing-based models. This paper will argue that because of these characteristics, art-based community building and cultural programs have the capacity to create sustainable kinship, friendship and trust-based networks, which empower residents and strengthen the capacity of the community to imagine and implement solutions to meet the intimacies and complexities of community needs.
Recommended Citation
Romig, Hannah, "Arts and Social Justice: The Role of Art Organizations in Building Community" (2018). Sustainability and Social Justice. 207.
https://commons.clarku.edu/idce_masters_papers/207
