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The article offers information on Africana Writing Series with the theme "Voice and Memory in the Poetic Imagination" which concerns of the complex and demanding art of writing. Topics discussed include discussion about Gabriel Okara's poetry and artistic visions; role of poetry and the arts in society; and role of poetry to create opportunities for change.

An essay is presented which discusses the arts, with particular focus given to the concepts of meaning, seeing, and knowing. The ideas of light and subjectivity in literature and embodied experience are also examined, and the concept of art as both a a reflection and a distortion of reality is explored. The philosophical concept of subjectivity is also touched on along with the place of art in elucidating financial and political realities, and the audiovisual nature of modern society and its effect on art is discussed.

This article argues and demonstrates that a distinction between artistic and non-artistic methods in community/socially engaged arts can open new discussions that advance and challenge the practice. While the boundary between art and non-art is far from clear, several widely read publications on community/socially engaged arts have categorized such works as the same class of engagement, investigating primarily their political and cultural impact, leaving the experiential dimension of the engagement overlooked. The ethological perspective of art presented by anthropologist Ellen Dissanayake is drawn upon for a definition of art that connects the experiential and social experience of art with the survival and thriving of individuals and their communities. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this definition of art is integrated with theories of psychology and social psychology for a multifaceted explanation of the phenomenon of collaborative art making. This discussion reconsiders the simplistic understanding of the oft-quoted phrase 'everyone is an artist', the 'lowest-common denominator' critique of collaborative art making, and the instrumentalization of art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the heart of this paper is an exploration of artistic co-creativity involving people with dementia and their partners. Co-creativity promotes a relational approach to creativity which nurtures inclusion and participation. This paper investigates how co-creativity can affect well-being from the perspectives of people with dementia and their carers; and explores how well-being and agency might be usefully reconsidered. The article draws on findings from a small-scale study 'With All' that focused on music and dance as non-verbal and therefore inclusive artforms. A range of disciplinary perspectives, from psychology, philosophy and social sciences, inform the study. The research used an intrinsic case-study methodology and within this a mixed-methods approach was adopted. This included dialogic interviews, video data analysis and the Canterbury Well-being Scale (CWS). Thematic analysis of the interviews and video data revealed three key themes: autonomy, connections, and art as an enabler. These themes captured the experiences of the participants and facilitated a more nuanced understanding of wellbeing and agency in the context of living with dementia. The analysis of the CWS indicated some improvements in well-being. Following this analysis using multiple data sources, the paper argues that well-being and agency are best understood as relational, and ongoing, rather than completed states. Further both wellbeing and agency contain their opposites (ill-being and passivity). This innovative exploration highlighted the importance of co-creative collaboration as a method that was considered valuable by participants, and that therefore should be further considered in future research with people living with dementia. • Co-creativity is an inclusive method. • Co-creativity is valued by people with dementia • Agency and well-being are linked. • Agency and well-being are relational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on sociocultural developments in the Middle Western states of the United States. Quilt exhibition at the Museum of Nebraska History; Launch of exhibit featuring role of African-Americans as cowboys in the development of the American West by the Colorado Historical Society; Clay pottery exhibit at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck.

The article reports on the Soviet art politics. Art has always represent its time expressing the history of humanity, its environment and nation. In Soviet Union, the dynamics of artistic development is particularly evident. The focus of the art is its society and government. Soviet artists were told to base their work on the principle of socialist realism or to serve as a propaganda instrument to advance communism. Views on the style of arts by the painters, and the artists motive on his work are mentioned.

British artist Barbara Walker makes drawings of people. She makes drawings of people using charcoal and a soft pencil. She makes drawings of men and women; huge, larger than life, floor to ceiling drawings rendered directly onto the wall. Each fold, crease, line, and blemish of her sitters’ bodies and the clothes that enfold them are sensitively transcribed in the smallest of detail. But we never see her sitters’ faces. And each wall is wiped clean at the end of every show. It is impossible to view Walker’s work without first being astonished by the sheer scale and by the craftsmanship, by the quality of lines seemingly etched into the wall, or the paper, or the canvas, creating a three-dimensional, almost sculptural effect. It comes as no surprise that she sites Giacometti and Rodin as amongst her influences. Yet these soft charcoal and pastel drawings are deeply political. In Walker’s hand the methodical making of lines on a wall and the erasing of them is a form of quiet activism. The article published here features drawings from the 2015 exhibition Sub Urban staged at the James Hockey Gallery, Farnham, Surrey, in which Walker examined contemporary stereotypes through the study of the dress codes and fashions adopted by young women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the relationship of culture, race, and cloth to African Diasporas in several places including West Africa, Great Britain, and U.S. Topics mentioned include the cultural meaning of cloth, the importance of art and culture to social transformation, and the cultural production and artistic expression of African-American communities.

This paper has a twofold focus: to establish a method of assessing the potential social impact of arts and disability projects and to apply this method to ten such projects. It does so by using a newly developed ‘ripple’ model that conceptualises social impact in terms of the development of active citizenship on the part of all participants over time. The model identifies ten factors (programme activity, welcoming, belonging, programme social values, individual social values, programme networks, individual networks, skills and creativity, programme wider social impact, and individual wider social impact) which evolve through four progressive stages. The original model is empirically adapted for application to arts and disability projects. Qualitative data were collected in the form of interviews, surveys and media reports across ten case studies, each representing a major arts and disability project offering a professional outcome for an external audience. The qualitative data were coded to provide a simple scoring tool for each case. The results support the application of the model in this context. Furthermore, findings indicate three critical conditions which enable projects to generate considerable positive social impact beyond the individual; ensemble in nature; project embeddedness; and networks and partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ethnographic study of visionary art environment Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (PMG) draws on theories of rationalization in nonprofits to explore factors that influence the impact of this process on organizations. Responding to theories that rationalization attenuates expressive drivers of nonprofit activity, an analysis of PMG is used to explore and contextualize a literature‐derived theoretical framework that suggests variables that may influence the outcome of rationalization processes in organizations. The PMG case supports and adds nuance to a notion that the strength of expressive and rationalizing impulses and the convergence or divergence of intra‐organizational values influence whether growing nonprofits are able to integrate instrumental structures and expressive motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Puerto Rican musician and jazz singer Lucy Fabery. The author comments on the relationship between Puerto Rican music, literature, and society, and examines her influence on the arts in Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean region, including Cuba. Her ethnicity as a black Puerto Rican woman is also explored.

Over the past several decades, arts organizations have been responding to an array of societal changes. These changes have resulted in a transformation of the field, including not only how professional, non-profit arts organizations are perceived by their stakeholders but also how they see themselves. This study looked at mission statements and communication materials of the flagship arts organizations of five U.S. cities to determine what they say about themselves and how they position themselves on an elitism-democracy continuum, from excluding to embracing new and different audiences. It included a content analysis of annual reports, season brochures, news releases, and social media to determine why and about what arts organizations communicate. It then used a case study approach to analyze in more detail the communication of three specific arts organizations. Overall, the study showed how arts organizations are communicating their unique identities and how they are working to position themselves on the democratic side of the elitism continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how human beings were differentiated based on a natural element like skin color in the eighteenth century through the fine arts. Topics include how skin color was manipulated synthetically to the point of providing evidence of human hierarchies and to justify racism and how a scientific authority like Newton's theory on white light prompted the art theorist Claude-Henri Watelet to define race via skin color.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including relationship between the arts and society; immunity in humanities; and immunity in relation to immigration policy.

The article discusses on the criticism to the view of German art historian Wilhelm Worringer on art history. Topics mentioned include the inspiration to German artists of his "Abstraktion und Einfühlung" dissertation, the cultural diagnosis which argues on the lost social significance of art, and the attempt to recover the social expression of creative ability.

The paper provides a historical outline of the changes in the relationship between Artist and Society from ancient to contemporary times. Art styles change according to complex transformations in socio-economic organization. One of the most significant problems is the value of arts to society and artists' freedom of action. The artist must balance his demand for full independence against his need for resources from the society at large. The developing status and function of artists and cultural institutions are necessarily related to the dynamics of social and historical change centred on accepted rules and economic system. The purpose of this analysis is an attempt to answer the questions concerning the mutual influence of the art and the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a study which reveals a dichotomy of issues, as well as the counter narratives of empowerment and dependency; freedom and restrictions; creativity and learned helplessness; and faith and distrust in the field of interdisciplinary arts/multi-media arts. The study discloses a distinct pedagogical failure which poignantly brought about a catalyst for self-discovery, self-awareness, autonomy, self-efficacy, and an understanding of truth-seeking and truth-telling for emerging and aspiring students enrolled in an interdisciplinary arts program. In so doing, the students’ self-assured and individual stories carried a not so subtle “deal-with-it” message that challenged the often unspoken and forbidden question of just how much reality (or not) is allowed in a classroom. The study asks how an authentic interdisciplinary arts program makes allowances for work depicting original ideas of the student’s choosing (offensive or not, disturbing or not, alarming or not) but is also free from biases, distrust, instructional hegemony, and repressive tendencies. What is the social science for one’s need of acceptance, identity, and recognition from others in a classroom atmosphere designed to not only reveal autonomy, but collaboration and shared decision making? And, how are non-cognitive skills such as empathy and diligence being addressed in interdisciplinary programs? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers pursue a range of strategies aimed at diversifying neighborhoods despite research indicating the complicated and potentially damaging results of these efforts. One increasingly common approach is to incorporate the arts into planning efforts in the hope of enhancing diversity and catalyzing positive neighborhood change. Using data from the Cultural Data Project, the authors determine where newly established New York City arts organizations locate in terms of neighborhood racial, income, and industry diversity. They then analyze how diverse contexts interact with an arts presence to impact neighborhood economic health over time. They find that neighborhoods with high levels of racial diversity and low levels of income and industry diversity benefit most from an arts presence. However, the arts are attracted predominantly to neighborhoods with moderate levels of racial diversity and high levels of income and industry diversity. This complicates the use of the arts as a tool in urban revitalization policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Story Slam is a trending model in participatory arts programming. This case study of the Philadelphia-based organization First Person Arts (FPA) examines the value of the Story Slam, both for individual audience members and for organizational audience development and engagement efforts. Findings explore the connection between creative agency in arts programming and audience loyalty, and between autobiographical programming and experiences of authenticity. This study ultimately examines a lack of socioeconomic and ethnic diversity in FPA's audiences, depicts how the Story Slam model naturally lends itself to the cultivation of a diverse community, and makes programming recommendations for increasing audience diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ever since the earliest forms of mass media, the dichotomy of mass culture/high culture has been a topic of debate. The concept of cultural democracy has developed as a way to acknowledge a variety of cultural activities. Despite attempts to develop a broader understanding of culture, cultural policy still seems to reproduce the dichotomies, and to value one over the other. In this article, we would argue for an expanded understanding of cultural democracy, which may serve as a starting point for a turn of perspective of arts advocacy and cultural policy—the perspective we call an expressive cultural democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes the vision and realization of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as a beacon of Deaf heritage contribution in Canada and internationally, with a focus on community-generated accomplishment and celebration. The authors highlight the unique historical role ol the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as a freestanding cultural space set in Toronto's Distillery Historic District, which is a hub of culture, arts, and entertainment. The center features the diverse ways in which the community influences both itself and society at large. This contrasts with other institutions that place themselves in tandem with Deaf schools or service agencies and/or focus on external impacts on the Deaf community. The authors reflect on the importance of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as the embodiment of Deaf self-determination in public history both in its institutional context and in its public exhibits. Together they provide an affirming message about the cultural contributions of the Deaf community in public history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will provide an overview of the state of the art of contemporary forms of Twitterfiction, discussing the varieties and genres that have emerged to date, and considering the extent to which they could be described as 'experimental' based on existing theory. The article will argue that the most innovative examples of Twitterfiction play with key features and affordances of Twitter, but that this in itself may not constitute the kind of artistic experimentation that fundamentally disrupts or changes readers' perceptions or expectations. Moving beyond the current preoccupation with examples of Twitterfiction as 'short bursts of beauty', the article will examine whether Twitter can support more sustained and immersive forms of narrative. It will also argue that in order to understand how these fictions work on Twitter we need to look at the narrative environment more broadly, to fully appreciate how these narratives impact on our daily lives, while also (re)connecting us with existing and traditional patterns and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Indigenous Literature and the Arts of Community, citing the call for the literary arts and community engagement stressing decolonization strategies. It cites on the responsibilities of the artists and scholars to stress the literary arts and community engagement linked to cultural and other forms of genocides. The article also discusses the importance of honouring the homelands of a specific Indigenous communities as political and respectful gesture.

This essay addresses the problem of the decline of interest in the Liberal and Fine Arts, and the humanities, East and West, accompanied by a reductionist understanding of reality and life. That reductionism results in a triviaiization and brutalization of culture. The essay considers three prominent modes of understanding: Scientism, Relationalism, and Wisdomseeking. A scientistic relationalism is anti-intellectual and anti-cultural. In contrast, a Wisdom-seeking relationalism affirms human dignity, and is grounded in a qualitative ontology necessary to an intellectual and moral life. The historical turning-point in the West in which the intellectual and practical pursuit of Wisdom was replaced by a scientistic relationalism is personified by the contrasts between St. Anselm of Canterbury and Peter Abelard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing the art of urban design invites scrutiny of ‘the kind of art urban design is’. Accordingly, this paper first discusses urban design as art, then uses Fokt’s framework for defining art and Lalo’s classification of arts to suggest fresh interpretations of urban design as an art. The paper then relates urban design to other arts, drawing attention to urban design’s affinity with architecture, landscape architecture, interior and garden design. The paper suggests that urban design can be richer for being an art, without neglecting the possibility for it to be functional or participatory. Advancing urban design as an art implies attention towards suitable means of distilling and instilling collective urban meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the relationship between arts businesses and redevelopment has been studied extensively in world-class cities, it remains understudied in weaker market cities. With tight municipal budgets, shrinking cities cannot afford to not understand both the benefits of the arts for downtown redevelopment and the impact of redevelopment on the arts. Using block-level data for a U.S. shrinking city’s downtown (St. Louis), this study finds that the arts have neither anchored redevelopment nor been driven out of the downtown by redevelopment. The latter finding signals an opportunity for shrinking cities to harness the benefits of the arts in downtown redevelopment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An arts-based afterschool program is introduced in advancing children's democratic citizenship and a sense of community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]