Convened by Dana Edell at Emerson College with collaborators at New York University, Fordham University, and the New School

The goal of this collaboratory is to create a field guide to artist-informed “applied imagination,” articulating how artists apply imagination beyond aesthetic contexts–the integration of art-infused practices and ways of thinking that contribute to contexts such as healthcare, immigration rights, and equitable community development. Always in flux, how artists bring their imaginations to every conceivable context, we argue, is happening  more but recognized less, partly because scholarship and communication strategies have not kept up with practice. And so the role of the imagination and creativity in the struggle for an equitable world remains undervalued. For example, the array of creative street strategies enacted on Minneapolis streets to resist occupation by ICE agents was astounding, but the art involved was less recognized than the politics. What practices characterize the field now? What ideas underpin the field as it currently exists? What are the pillars of a truly social and civic engaged arts practice now? Where in public life are such practices embedded? Who needs to make the case? What audiences must the message reach? We in the arts will make the case better in conjunction with partners from those fields who have experienced its worth and know their cohort. To that end, we will reach out to a broad range of contributors. Equally germane, we will pay particular attention to the forms the submissions take–not only the language of scholarly discourse but also poetry, graphic novels, visuals, and sound languages, that best capture the  imagination at work and play.  

The project will support and activate IA engagement in the Boston/NYC region by: bringing together  cross-sector partners to clearly articulate their imaginative work together; identifying and expanding  effective languages to articulate the partnerships; inspiring colleagues to generate their own cross-sector partnerships. Proximity will allow interested people to see each other’s work and reflect on how such partnerships play out in our region. Basing the work regionally counters the isolation that many public  artists and scholars experience. 

We are inspired by Keywords for American Cultural Studies, a book and interactive website conceived in  2007 by former IA board member/chair Bruce Burgett and Fordham professor Glenn Hendler and still  going strong, with regular updates. We will articulate not only keywords associated with socially engaged art and testimonies from people in other fields about art’s worth in their disciplines, but also key concepts, techniques, and principles, with faculty, students, a range of scholars, and community partners writing 1-2 page texts about each. Brief first-person stories interspersed throughout will serve as connective glue, bringing the ideas alive and expanding appreciation of the centrality of the imagination in envisioning the future, written by the artist and partner together.