Dear all,

We have just published artWORK, a new edited book that might be of interest to some of you. We will be having a few launch events in the new year, more information coming soon.

With best wishes (and apologies for some cross-posting),

Paula

Dr Paula Serafini

Research Associate

CAMEo Research Institute for Cultural and Media Economies

University of Leicester

www.le.ac.uk/cameo

Visiting Fellow

Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani

Universidad de Buenos Aires

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artWORK: Art, Labour and Activism

Edited by Paula Serafini, Jessica Holtaway and Alberto Cossu

artWork: Art, Labour and Activism brings together a variety of perspectives on contemporary cultural production and activism in order to interrogate how the concepts of art, labour and activism intersect in practices for social change. What can we learn about contemporary art and politics by looking at the intersections between art, labour and activism? What theoretical tools can help us arrive at a deeper understanding of these intersections? 

In order to address these questions, this collection explores the role of art as activism, the use of social media and technology in creative production and organising, the politics of artmaking, the commodification of culture and the possibility of a creative commons, and the work of artist activists as educators. In addition to offering a variety of new perspectives from researchers and practitioners, it proposes new paths towards interdisciplinary research in this field that combine sociological, anthropological, philosophical and art theory perspectives. It will be of interest to students and scholars interested in creative labour, social movements and political arts practice.

“Brecht and Weill famously asked 'What keeps mankind alive' in song form. This important and timely collection asks what keeps artists and cultural workers alive today, when confronted with conditions of increasing precarity. Essential reading for building a new art workers' coalition.”
— Stevphen Shukaitis, Senior Lecturer in Culture and Organization at the University of Essex and author of The Composition of Movements to Come

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781786601889/artWORK-Art-Labour-and-Activism#