Activating Community through Collaboration

“Sí, se puede.” “Wir schaffen das.” “We are the 99%.” Social and political movements across demographics frequently invoke the collective we, seeking to build solidarity through a language of shared identity and investment. More than just slogans, such language articulates a collective desire to make change, work together, and seek out community. The history of the Women’s Caucus for Art is bound up with the history of the US feminist art movement, in which activating community and creating spaces for collaboration pushed back against then-normative conceptions of an artist as solitary male genius. While much has been written about select feminist collaborations, such as Womanhouse, this panel seeks presentations by artists, curators, and art historians about lesser-known artistic projects, both historical and contemporary, that have activated community through the shared labor of collaboration or collectivity. Specific topics might include, among others: artist collectives; socially engaged curating; identity-based or affinity-based art activism; participatory projects in civic, religious, educational, or carceral settings; public art in rural or urban environments; the art of protest in wartime; intergenerational arts-based collaborations; or grassroots work that seeks to make social, cultural, economic, or political change.