Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Art as social change

I'm an advocate for educating about the ways that art can be an agent of positive social change. This happens through 1) artwork that makes an audience think/ provokes a response to a subject, 2) creating art in response to a social justice issues, 3) educating about how to look at art, 4) educating about how to use art as a vehicle for social change. 

In my role as Artist in Residence at Alvernia University, I'm building a bridge between the Fine and Performing Arts Department and The Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement through a social media challenge. 

A little background - in a non-pandemic year, most colleges, classes start right after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (in January) with students moving in the weekend prior. MLK Day is used as a day of service for the college and surrounding communities. Because of the pandemic, Alvernia began classes February 1st; MLK Day was still used as a day for awareness and advocacy through a virtual ceremony. I performed via video for the celebration. 

The Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement is kicking off this first week of classes, Black History Month, and the semester with a week of awareness and advocacy, focusing on Dr. King's philosophies, panel discussions, and service opportunities. We're collaborating to bring awareness to the ways that art provokes social change through a social media challenge - using #AUartasawareness. 

Here are some of the images I've created. The pictures are used with permission and are from past performances of Alvernia Theatre. 








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