Social Practice
Whether it’s cultural or economic, environmental or political, art stands as a conversation. It takes today’s problems and finds solutions. This is Social Practice. Get armed with the knowledge and skills to address your role in society and the issues of today.
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Social PracticeImmerse yourself in socially engaged art
Explore your place in society and look at how art plays a role in the global, national, and local issues of our times. A social practice minor prepares you to be a change-maker and have a socially engaged practice beyond graduation into your professional career.
Engage in the world as an artist. Look at the past, present, and future and find solutions in smart conversations about history and research. Take up social justice within your community.
With a strong historical, conceptual and material foundation, the focus is on collaboration instead of individual making.
The multidisciplinary minor is one of only 10 Social Practice minors at AICAD schools.
Classes and Course Requirements
The Social Practice Minor requires 16-credit hours. Students in any major can elect to complete the minor with careful course planning.
Required Classes
Introduction to Social Practice (3 Credits)
A studio elective designed to give students a conceptual and historical foundation of socially-engaged art practice.
Collaborative Art Practice (3 Credits)
An introduction to key concepts needed to examine social practice. Students will engage with off-campus organizations on a semester-long project.
Capstone Seminar (1 Credit)
A roundtable discussion course that helps students develop and complete two assignments for the fulfillment of their Social Practice minor: an artist talk and a future project proposal.
Open Electives (9 Credits)
KCAI offers a number of elective courses spanning different disciplines that will count toward the Social Practice minor. Please refer to the Academic Catalog for a listing of currently available courses.
“I explored classes that were not just about craft, and I was able to start thinking about how my art would fit into the real world and engage with it in a very active way.”
Social Practice Faculty
KCAI faculty are artists, designers and scholars in their fields.
Mineral Hall
Classes in the Social Practice program take place both in the studio and classroom. Connect the things you create and the world in which you and your art exist.
The Herb Kohn Center for Social Practice, located in historic Mineral Hall, gives students a place for conversation and connection with others in the KCAI community. Meeting rooms and a library are located onsite. Its iconic doors are one of the most photographed landmarks in Kansas City.