Established in 2007, Open Engagement is an international conference and platform to support socially engaged art that explores various perspectives on art and social practice. In 2014 OE established a partnership with A Blade of Grass based on aligned missions including expanding the dialogue around socially engaged art, as well as the structures and networks of support for artists working within the complex social issues and struggles of our time.
Building off the conference commitment to expanding knowledge around socially engaged art, Open Engagement is proud to announce its publishing arm, OE In Print.
OE In Print will be dedicated to publishing work that contributes to the conversation surrounding socially engaged art practices and will feature edited volumes, artist conversation series, and publications that highlight the work of Open Engagement presenters. All proceeds from OE books will go toward the Open Engagement conference and keeping it a low-cost/no-cost event.
The first release from OE In Print will be The Questions We Ask Together, edited by Gemma-Rose Turnbull. The book will be available for pre-order in February 2015, with the book release date in April 2015 timed with “Open Engagement: Place and Revolution,” taking place in Pittsburgh April 17–19, 2015.
The Questions We Ask Together
For the closing event of OE 2013, we collected questions generated by the assembled group of conference attendees to further get a sense of what is emerging, what people are thinking, and where this conversation is going in socially engaged art. This was inspired by Sister Corita’s quantity assignments, to generate 100 questions before embarking on intensive work and research. In the days leading up to OE 2014 we released blog posts by over 100 contributors from the field reflecting on these collectively generated questions.
The Questions We Ask Together brings together these posts, featuring writing by Allison Agsten, Tania Bruguera, Joshua Decter, Pablo Helguera, Grant Kester, and Stephen Wright amongst others.
I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About In My Song
OE In Print’s second release will be published in 2016. I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song: How Artists Make and Live Lives of Meaning traces the social and historical influences of artists whose work sought to connect art and daily life. Written by OE founder and director Jen Delos Reyes, I’m Going to Live The Life will feature past OE presenters including Fritz Haeg, David Horowitz, J. Morgan Puett, Ben Kinmont, and Mierle Laderman Ukeles.
You can reserve your copy at imgoingtolivethelife.com through November 22, 2014.
About Open Engagement
Since 2007 the conference has convened over 1,000 presenters and over 4,000 attendees from around the world to share current perspectives and approaches to socially engaged art. The conference presenters are selected from an open call for submissions. Open Engagement promotes multiple ways of knowing and experiencing this work from projects that are enacted at the conference, walking tours, panels, and hands-on seminars. The submissions are selected by committees comprised of artists, educators, professionals, and community members.
This conference is an essential educational resource that delivers workshops to provide attendees with skills and tools to support their work in communities and embedded contexts. Open Engagement is committed to creating a space that is accessible, including free childcare to conference attendees, ADA accessible venues, and remaining a no-cost/low-cost platform.
Submissions for OE 2015 are open until November 17, 2014. Learn more or submit a proposal at openengagement.info.
About A Blade of Grass
A Blade of Grass is a new funding non-profit that is dedicated to nurturing socially engaged art––an evolving field at the intersection of art and social change. ABOG provides fellowship resources to artists who demonstrate artistic excellence, work actively in dialogue with communities at ambitious scale, and enact social change. ABOG creates events and content in order to foster an inclusive, practical discourse about the aesthetics, function, ethics and meaning of socially engaged art. Learn more at abladeofgrass.org.
