Publications Repository - Gdańsk University of Technology

The paper aims to explore the potential role of contemporary art as a catalyst for social transformation and civic engagement. The research focuses on the visual arts and their power to change social attitudes in contemporary society. On the basis of theoretical, transdisciplinary approaches and analysis of artwork the paper investigates emerging forms of art and how they address pressing social issues and concerns that would otherwise remain unfamiliar. Artwork that reveals social phenomena and trends lying hidden under the surface of social reality are—in a sense—only exist thanks to the reaction of the audience. The research provides insights both into the art practices developed through relationships with communities and their social impact. The text concludes with an attempt to present various art practices understood as discursive animations of public spaces. The research findings offer the opportunity to introduce new interpretations of the complex and difficult relation between art and society to the contemporary academic discourse. The text stresses that today the study of art phenomena would be difficult without transdisciplinary approaches. There is a need for further research, but the paper confirms the potential of this direction of study.

Authors

• dr inż. arch. Joanna Kabrońska link open in new tab