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.
Beverly Naidus works in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences program at the University of Washington in Tacoma, where she is co-creating a studio arts program (Arts in Community) with a focus on art for social change and healing.
"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 * "Naidus argues passionately for a different kind of art, one that builds social muscle and can make a difference in the world. I predict this book will inspire exciting and innovative trends in both art and education and critical theory, tilting them more in the direction of interdisciplinary and socially engaged practices. And I agree with Naidus' core proposition that the times demand nothing less." -- Suzi Gablik, author, * The Re-Enchantment of Art and Conversations Before the End of Time * "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 * "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 * "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." -- Andrea Avila * Canadian Art Teacher * "Arts for Change is essential reading for artists, art teachers, educational administrators, and students of art. It brings to life a pedagogical practice, employed for years by a significant number of socially-engaged activist artists, known but to few outside this community." -- Nina Felshin, author * But Is It Art? The Spirit of Art as Activism *
