Informal arts refer to the co-creative activities that transform the shared environment for all dwellers. From the participants' perspective, this study aims to develop a valuable understanding of the integration of individuals, communities, and places in the literature of public art. Using two Asian communities as case examples: the CCCFC Badminton Fellowship (a field site case) and the 227 Incident (an online case), this interdisciplinary study critically investigates how and why ordinary people construct social space through establishing healthy interpersonal relationships through the chosen arts practices. To show the significant role of the social engagers in connecting individuals and communities, this study illuminates how the informal arts engagers configure the public environment by facilitating inclusion, respect, and interaction in the arts community. This contribution study also analyzes how the arts engagers manage and negotiate conflicts generated from the process of constructing the shared space in the social fabric. The findings amplify participants' marginalized voices by illuminating what is taken for granted and which goes unspoken within the available body of public-art literature. Furthermore, the findings of this study visualize the linkage to the development, growth, and survival of the groups whose social relationships, daily routine, and environment are richly dynamic and creatively alive.

Authors:
Ying Chen, Southern Methodist University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Ying Chen, doctor of Liberal Studies at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on how people co-create new structures of social relations through informal arts engagements to improve quality of life and thus enhance a larger community.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-c-2a5773176/

Additional website of interest
https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&hl=en&user=_X07yrcAAAAJ

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