Social Practice and the Creative Environment

The one-year taught MA programme is designed for cultural practitioners who engage with the field of social relations as part of their work. Social Practice encompasses such diverse practices as art-activism, critical art, socially engaged art and architecture, social practice art, activism, political cultural work, participatory, dialogical and collaborative practices of art and/or design. It involves individuals, communities and/or social institutions in the activation of new situations, working critically through different modes of production and co-production. The move towards Social Practice, at practitioner and institutional levels, reflects a growing need for a democratization of the relationship between creative practitioners and communities, and a sharing of ‘expert’ and ‘lay’ knowledges. The MA SPaCE provides a challenging seminar programme that gives students a strong theoretical basis from which to articulate the critical and creative dimensions of their work. Students are supported to develop proposals and projects in situations of their own choosing and encouraged to engage with publics as part of their research process. This innovative MA programme is distinctive in that; It is focused on Social Practice It is delivered through theory and practice It is open to practitioners of art and design It is also open to experienced graduates outside of the art and design fields.