Beverly Naidus shares her passion and strategies for teaching socially engaged art, offering, as well, a short history of the field and the candid views of more than thirty colleagues.
A provocative, personal look at the motivations and challenges of teaching socially engaged arts, Arts for Change overturns conventional arts pedagogy with an activist's passion for creating art that matters.
How can polarized groups work together to solve social and environmental problems? How can art be used to raise consciousness? Using candid examination of her own university teaching career as well as broader social and historical perspectives, Beverly Naidus answers these questions, guiding the reader through a progression of steps to help students observe the world around them and craft artistic responses to what they see. Interviews with over 30 arts education colleagues provide additional strategies for successfully engaging students in what, to them, is most meaningful.
Industry Reviews
"Art can be a powerful thing, saying much with little or no words. "Arts for Change: Teaching Outside the Frame" is an exploration of art and its place in campaigning for change in today's society. Discussing art and its applications to countless issues, and how people have empowered themselves through it, "Arts for Change" is a look at arts, politics, and culture as a whole through modern America. "Arts for Change" is an intriguing read, especially recommended for those who transmit messages through their art."
-Midwest Book Review
"Whether Naidus' story is close to your own or not, the resources gathered are quite useful. From the practitioner profiles to the "Other Practitioners, Programs and Hubs of Useful Information" listed in the appendix, there are plenty of avenues to explore and groups to become involved with. For further reading, the "Socially Engaged Art Bibliography" offers contemporary as well as historical writings that delve further into the terrain traversed in the book and Naidus' life. This book offers an important glimpse into the personal development of one engaged artist/educator who seeks to keep growing through her dialogue with others, colleagues and students alike."
-Anusha Venkataraman, Community Arts Network
"Arts for Change is not just a book for teachers; it is a book that invites everyone to think about how the individual affects the collective. It explains how socially engaged work can be done in isolation, or within a community. It asks us to reflect upon the difficulty of solving problems within cultures that cannot dream of a future. It reminds us of the need and central role of art in thinking out[side] the frame; facing our fears with constructive creativity and moving beyond the habits of the rational mind."
-Andrea Avila, Canadian Art Teacher
"Naidus does an excellent job of drawing in all kinds of readers by weaving story and academic reflection together as opposing yet familiar textures. The overall effect is a powerful account in which theory develops through history, personal story, and the words of others, making Arts for Change an enlightening read."
-Kelly Campbell-Busby, Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship
