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On the basis of ethnographic research with woodcarvers in Oaxaca, Mexico, this paper investigates the role that aesthetic practices play in economic competition in cultural markets. I explain how one family has become the most successful artisans in their village by aesthetically referencing the indigenous art that is highly sought after by the North American ethnic art market. By reformulating Bourdieu's analysis of artistic fields, I argue that aesthetic competition should be theorised at the level of genres, which allow insight into how individual aesthetic innovations may transform the fields in which art is produced and circulated. I show that by referencing indigeneity, this successful family not only accesses a new market but also renders their work more authoritative than the carvings of their neighbours, which aesthetically reference Mexican ‘artesanías’ (craftwork). In so doing, they not only earn more money but also change the ways that Oaxacan woodcarvings are valued in general. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

If the study of public entrepreneurship is directed at processes of social transformation, then it invariably encounters the manifold experiments of contemporary art and their socio-political effects. This short paper seeks to throw this encounter into sharper relief. After contextualizing the relation of art and social transformation, an example of a recent artistic intervention is presented. In conclusion, it is argued that art’s paradoxical potential to identify and disidentify with forms of life offers fictions of the possible: ambiguous, performative and preliminary reorderings of what can be perceived, expressed and done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pedagogy Group emerged from a network of artists, curators, writers, and activists who are teaching courses that incorporate elements of social engagement in the context of arts and media programs. Members share and collectivize information and materials acquired through their individual research and practices such as syllabi, classroom exercises, and readings. Over time we have become a peer support network. Such cooperative efforts to develop and use a shared body of knowledge are understood as a first step toward countering some of the current limitations of art pedagogy, often hampered by competition and restricted by its focus on individual achievement. Part of our process is to look closely at conventional art training, as well as how socially engaged pedagogy is situated within the “new university,” in order to consider what models, subjectivities, and values are being produced by this work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores recent developments in the sociology of the arts, namely the new theoretical framework set up by the French sociologist Pierre-Michel Menger in order to approach the artistic activity. It aims to show how he has shaped new tools of understanding and modelling for exploring the arts, as a particular world of action. Laying down the foundation of a conception of action related to symbolic interactionism and drawing on the economic analysis of risk and uncertainty, Menger move towards a model where uncertainty, not determinism, is the default category. Uncertainty is thus the principle unifying the analysis and understanding of the particularities of the arts, and the main argument in integrating sociological and economic studies on artistic activities. Correlatively, artistic creation is qualified as an act of work, the creative work being defined as a system of action in uncertain horizon. Within this model, the artists are seen less like "rational fools" and more like Bayesian actors, adopting strategies for managing risk and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the possibilities of art as social practice in the context of the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is inspired by notions of art having the capacity to move beyond the spaces of galleries into an expanded field, and thus beyond the visual and into the social. The article examines the potential for sculpture to play a transformative role in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and in transforming the gender relations that shape the dynamics of the spread of the disease. These ideas are developed through discussion of research conducted in Uganda and in the UK, which sought to develop forms of sculptural practice for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Uganda. The article explores the ways in which a series of soap sculptures are an effective tool in the fight against the disease, particularly in communities with high rates of illiteracy and in which discussion of sex and sexuality remains largely taboo. The article contends that countering taboo and facilitating dialogue between women and men, thus encouraging attitudinal and behavioural change, are perhaps the most significant impacts that this form of sculpture can make. This is because while awareness of the disease in Uganda is often high, having the capacity to discuss and act upon this awareness is often problematic, largely because of fear, stigma and taboo, and the unequal gender relations that determine the nature of men and women’s sexual lives. The article concludes that the transformative effects of the soap sculptures are revealed in the ways in which they challenge taboos, tackle fear and stigma, and facilitate dialogue between men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last military dictatorship (1976-1983) executed a systematic plan for the disappearring of people, one of its primary objects being stop the development of various political projects that were being held by various lef-tist groups in the ‘60’s . One of the military regime’s major results was to seal all political and social debates that had spawned in the previous years. In this regard, their success was such that even today the processes of shaping collective memory of Argentina recent history still entail contradictions. The underlying difficulties are related to the possibility of elaborating social representations able to recover these complex past experiences, and therefore, useful to understand the features and goals of the repressive operations that aimed at eliminating them. This paper analyzes the processes of shaping collective memory through a case study: productions created by relatives and friends of victims of the military rule in Bahía Blanca (1995-2000). By means of resources, techniques and spaces drawn from visual and performing arts, they have elaborated and spread out certain views regarding the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses democratic political theory to compare three types of arts management practices. When art is treated as an elite status good, it is likely to have antidemocratic effects that largely reproduce status hierarchies. When art is treated as an exclusive group identity good, as in the case of identity politics, it is likely to contribute to democracy by giving voice to marginalized groups. Finally, when art is treated as an inclusive social good, it is likely to contribute to democracy by producing solidarity and encouraging commonality. The article concludes by encouraging an ecological approach that fosters multiple voices and multiple goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article focuses on the use of arts in health and community development settings with a proliferation of imaginative projects in statutory and voluntary sectors aimed at community engagement, health promotion and therapeutic applications. Participants in local arts projects gain in self-esteem, transferable skills and employability. Arts in health are acquiring importance with increasing attention being paid to dissemination of good practice. The Centre for Arts and Humanities in Health and Medicine at Durham University is developing use of the humanities in training healthcare professional. The inspiration and illustrations come from a complex multi-method research project at the Bromley by Bow Centre in East London. The Centre's understanding of the need to allow time for emotional response and work is the key to its ability to work with what people bring, while generating a ceaseless flow of ideas. The biographical interviews conducted at the Centre indirectly revealed the operation of syncretistic perception in personal learning and development.

The art world seems to have bifurcated into two different aesthetic paradigms: artists who continue to proclaim and support the self-sufficiency of art in defiance of the social good and any form of moral earnestness, and those who want art to have some worthy agenda outside of itself and a socially redeeming purpose. In Western culture, artists are not encouraged to be integral to the social, environmental or spiritual life of the community. In this essay , the author discusses a critical shift in the definition of an art object, offering the possibility for a return of art's moral authority.

The article investigates the policy implications of the stress on the subsidized arts and arts organizations as agents of social change and looks at the consequences that would follow from the adoption of the social impacts of the arts as a new policy rationale for future arts funding in Great Britain. The study concludes that the issue of the social impacts of arts projects is here to stay and is likely to have a prominent position in future debates over cultural policy in the country and beyond. The impression that social issues will probably gain a substantial centrality in future cultural policies seems to be reinforced by the cultural program "Culture 2000" of the European Community.

Opinion. Presents the views of the author about art. Influence of art in sociocultural aspects of society; Arts as venue for expression on various ills of society; Suggestions on how to develop art as a sector for action and decision making.

This article presents an overview of social goals in visual arts education. The purpose in visual arts education is derived mostly from the learners. Goals are centered on the creative accomplishments of individuals and are often stated with terms and phrases such as self-expression, identifying creative potential, developing the senses, and visual problem-solving. Visual arts educational goals eventually came to be focused almost entirely on the needs of the learner and that study of the visual arts have a relevance to problems in society.

Interviews Katherine Josten about the Global Art Project, an undertaking she established to promote world peace through artwork. Idea underlying the project; Influence of the Origins installation on the establishment of the Global Art Project; Her concept of art-making; Social relevance of the project.

The article reports on the issues of concern attending conceptual art within the period 1962-1969 with emphasis on the administration of studies in art aesthetics as well as the status of art institutions. According to the author, the two decades spanning the history of conceptual art allows art patrons and scholars alike to appreciate the theories as well as concepts inherent in conceptual art. As a matter of fact, the time element allows for a better contemplation on the developments that occurred within the period. The significance of the two decades of observable history also allows the clarification of varied issues that had transpired in the course of the history of conceptual art.

The author reflects on the importance of utilizing the arts in order to develop a common basis on which to build a greater understanding between people and among groups. He states that while music is the universal language, art is a universal means of expression. He adds that aside from being solely for the training of talent, art and music are involved in anything which expresses something.

The article reports on the significance of the arts and art education towards the adolescent specifically during the last phase of the twentieth century. According to the author, the impact of arts towards the adolescent could be an integrating factor in giving greater meaning to other equally significant subject matters. The arts have been given the significant interest in most educational curriculums so much so that it is seen as would connect society and individuals to the twenty-first century. The author suggests that in order to maximize the value of arts on the adolescent it is necessary that they should be examined in relation to the world that surrounds them.

The article reports on the status of electronic arts network in Australia with emphasis on several efforts by concerned groups in promoting electronic arts. The author argues that Australia is still in the process of establishing its very first electronic arts network. The country has a favorable economic and technical environment to promote electronic arts. According to the author, artists and art advocacy bodies could resort to affordable public networks to promote their works. Furthermore, art organizations in the country have their respective personal computers.