How can curatorial and artistic practices foster social and political change?
This course explores the concepts and methods of socially engaged and community-based art projects that have a political impact, both within and beyond the art world.

Over five weeks, we will explore how artists and curators can build infrastructures of solidarity and change by embracing self-organisation, horizontality, exchange, and knowledge-building. You will learn how art projects can engage with communities by integrating social research principles into curatorial and artistic work. Through case studies from the arts, education, and activist initiatives, you will understand how social injustice operates and how collective artistic projects can drive empowerment and disruption.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Apply strategies of socially engaged art into your curatorial and artistic practice.
• Develop curatorial approaches that foster community participation and political impact.
• Design projects that emphasize collaboration and solidarity.
• Recognize the potential of artistic and curatorial work to empower communities and challenge dominant structures.

This course is led by the Creative Association of Curators TOK, an international curatorial duo founded by Anna Bitkina and Maria Veits in 2010. Working at the intersection of contemporary art, the social sciences, architecture and socially-oriented design, TOK will draw on their extensive experience with socially engaged projects to provide both practical tools and theoretical frameworks for curators and artists seeking to inspire political change through artistic projects.

Photo: Wylly Suhendra via Unsplash