History of Social Art Library

It all started when…

The history of Social Art Library dates back to 2015 when we realised that increasing numbers of Axis artists were making work in social settings. To understand more about the growing field of social practice we commissioned our first piece of research, ‘Beyond the Gallery’, in collaboration with Professor Amanda Ravetz from Manchester Metropolitan University and later the ‘Models of Validation’ project—also known as Social Works?. These projects, which involved more than 100 artists in total, helped us learn more about the challenges facing social practitioners, and culminated in a new journal, Social Works? Open, a report, From Network to Meshwork ) and a festival of social practice, held in April 2019 at Manchester School of Art.  

Through our research we learned that social practice lacks key infrastructures to connect those working in the field with each other and often, the wider art world. Social projects are typically amorphous, emphasising process and relationship building, and artists can often work in isolation for long periods in a particular place or community. As such, it can be difficult for those not directly involved in a project—including institutions and commissioners—to learn about what happened or what was learned. We wanted to build a social practice library to help create new visibility for the field and to enable the knowledge from social projects to be accessed by as many people as possible. The history of social art is a shared concern for all those working in the field, from artists to producers to the people and communities they collaborate with, and we are committed to showcasing everybodies’ stories and experiences.

Who are we?

Social Art Library is an Axis project.

Please join us to help make Social Art Library bigger and better by searching the resource, sending us your comments and feedback and most importantly, by sharing your work using the link above! We can’t wait to work with you!