Socially engaged art and global challenges [editorial]

Abstract

The artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) developed his concept of 'social sculpture' in the 1970s to describe the politically transformative potential of creative work in everyday actions (Harlan, 2004). While other artistic movements in the twentieth century like Dada and Fluxus also worked to blur traditional distinctions between art and life, Beuys focused on more explicitly political questions about the moulding of democracy and societies through cooperative, creative action (Gyorody, 2014). The influence of Beuys' belief in human creativity and his expanded definition of art has been felt in various fields: from the field of art education and creative pedagogies (Buschkühle, 2020) to the Occupy movement in North America (Biddle, 2013) and social practice in the work of artists like Suzanne Lacy and Rick Lowe in the United States (Jordan, 2013). In particular, the importance of socially engaged artistic practices in pushing the remit of art education in directions that encourage interventions in spaces characterised by social injustices has been noted by many scholars in the fields of contemporary art practice and art education (Naidus, 2009; Helguera, 2011; Schlemmer et al., 2017). [excerpt]