Contemporary Socially Engaged Art Practice in Ireland: Modalities and Counter-Narratives

Written by a combination of emerging, mid-career and established socially engaged art practitioners, the transdisciplinary essays in this timely and innovative volume illuminate a diverse range of thematic, theoretical and methodological concerns, situated across multi-localities, constituencies and transnational trajectories. Spanning interdisciplinary art forms across the visual and creative arts, the various contributors to the book collectively reflect on social, cultural and political transformations unfolding across Ireland. These reflections extend outward, revealing resonances with wider international contexts and discourses, in critical dialogue with key theoretical and methodological debates underpinning the global proliferation of socially engaged art practices since the early 2000s, often situated outside traditional arts institutions and embedded across diverse field sites, communities of interest and jurisdictions. Topics explored in the book include migration and cultural diversity; climate change, Anthropocene and spatial justice; inner-city youth identity, inequality and power relations; rural landscapes and the Gaeltacht; gender and reproductive rights; institutional abuse and perpetrator trauma; architectural design and intellectual disability; social and spatial relations within globalised systems; Traveller representation; mentoring and archival practices; radical care, activism, organising and collectives; transnational networks of solidarity; and para-institutional spaces for cooperative learning. By situating socially engaged art (SEA) practices within a matrix of shifting political realities, community knowledges and evolving cultural narratives, this volume contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities and multifaceted landscape of socially engaged art practices in Ireland. It further serves to affirm the merit of artist-authored practice-led scholarship in capturing textually the nuances of collaborative and participatory methodologies.

The readership for this volume extends beyond established scholars and practitioners in the field to include undergraduate and postgraduate students, alongside socially engaged artists seeking critical reflection on their own practice. The book's integration of theoretical and practice-based perspectives makes it a primary teaching resource for dedicated socially engaged courses, with relevance to broader interdisciplinary curricula across the visual and creative arts.

Contemporary Socially Engaged Art Practice in Ireland: Modalities and Counter-Narratives is a publication collaboration between the Centre for Socially Engaged Practice-Based Research, TU Dublin and Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts and Fire Station Artists' Studios'.