Arts Administration Students Present at the 2014 ACT! An Interdisciplinary Social Justice Symposium

On Friday, February 28, 2014, Dr. Antonio C. Cuyler and students from his 2013 Art in Community Service class presented on a panel discussion at the 2014 ACT An Interdisciplinary Social Justice Symposium. “ACT!” is founded upon two questions:

• How do we, a diverse array of professionals and practitioners, use the tools we cultivate and hone in our disciplines in ways that can bring about social justice?
• How can we build community across disciplinary and institutional barriers to more effectively overcome oppression and create social situations more conducive to human flourishing?”

This symposium is in its first year and the goal of this year’s conference was to bridge the gap between theory and practice, between academy and community.  In the Art and Community Service class, graduate students completed service learning fieldwork with cultural organizations in the Tallahassee community. In addition, the class examined ways cultural organizations could use art for social justice as well as to implement community engagement to enhance the quality of life for communities. Dr. Cuyler presented his research on the social responsibility of arts administrators and the students spoke on their experiences working with cultural organizations in the community, and how they felt these organizations could incorporate social justice into their work.