Social justice art

[1] Art has been used as a means to record history, shape culture, cultivate imagination, and harness individual and social transformation.

Social justice art allows people to develop agency to interrupt and alter oppressive systemic patterns or individual behaviors.

[3] Examples of visual and performing social justice art includes: drawing, painting, sculpture, murals, graffiti, film, theater, music, dance, spoken word, etc.

[4] The efforts to incorporate post-Mexican Revolution notions with current Mexican American social, political, and cultural issues drove the Chicana/Chicano Arts Movement.

[7] Culturally relevant arts education (CRAE) is an education model that emerged from the Tubman Theater Project, a culturally relevant drama program in which African American middle and high school students examine their internalized oppression and work to create positive racial identities.

CRAE engages both students and educators in a process in which they reflect on their social position in societal liberation and subjugation.

[8] Several universities have introduced social justice arts programs: Sense of community is built through bridging geographic or interest-driven relationships.

Building community helps individuals come together to challenge inner oppressive dynamics that have been imposed by institutions, structures and bodies.

These inner oppressive dynamics have been termed “social ghosts” have been referenced in dance literature and function as a key theme within many community building art projects.