A Real Community Bridge: Informing Community-based Learning through a Mode of Participatory Public Art
Pamela Geiger Stephens
William Cochran’s community bridge mural is a passive example of what participatory public art can be. The conversation that happens between the artist and the public should be pushed so that the artist could’ve invited participants to gather, watch, or help carve the stones. Public artwork and community based artwork is being encouraged to go beyond the purpose of “finding common ground.” Through studying the texts of Claire Bishop and Nicolas Bourriaud for past research, I realize the quality of the relations established between the artist and public need to be questioned. The community’s input into the bridge is hidden behind the singular artist. So how do teachers avoid creating a community art piece with their students that isn’t superficial or simply a spectacle?
What is Community-Based Art Education?
J. Ulbricht
I think most of community-based art education happens outside of the classroom, through government funded projects and organized programs. However, a lot of what happens in current secondary classrooms does fit into the realm of community art, but is rarely understood as being so. Yes, according to Ulbricht, I agree that social issues must be confronted and it’s important to involve students in real-world situations. But even smaller projects that tackle smaller issues are equally important (or more) as giant public monuments that ‘celebrate diversity.’ For instance, in 2016 Hannah Jickling and Helen Reed involved Emily Carr students with their project called Big Rock Candy Mountain. They joined forces with elementary school students from Queen Alexandra Elementary, and engaged them in various workshops (candy-making, printmaking, installations) to explore how persuasive language is used in consumerism, the sense of taste being powerful, and the divide between child art and adult art aesthetics.
