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Copyright of Comparative Literature / Primerjalna Književnost is the property of Slovenian Comparative Literature Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the themes of neoliberalism, DIY culture, and the use of urban space in contemporary music and art. It discusses the shift from government intervention to market focus in the late 1970s/early 1980s, leading to the financialization of art and a focus on commercial viability. DIY culture emerged as a response, allowing for avant-garde expression and a broad-based approach to aesthetics. After the 2008 financial crash, DIY approaches became more prevalent due to decreased state funding. The article suggests alternative systems, such as basic income provision and cooperative structures, to sustain creativity. It also discusses the challenges faced by experimental music in urban spaces, including gentrification and funding cuts, and the importance of sustainability and alternative funding methods. The collection of papers covers various topics related to DIY culture and the challenges of sustaining radical venues. The overall message is that the arts can provide creative solutions and valuable experiences, particularly in times of crisis. [Extracted from the article]

Yu's given name is actually Zhuowei Yu, but most people in the mineral community know her as Safaa Yu. This article presents the colored-pencil artwork of Safaa Yu of Littleton, Colorado. So finally 2020 comes, and for a while I had some time to challenge myself a little by using colored pencils (Prismacolor brand).... As I [progress in my art], I really like to work with them and hopefully will explore more with colored pencils in the future. [Extracted from the article]

Drawing from seven months of fieldwork among independent artists and their communities in Guangzhou, China, in 2020–2021, this paper investigates the feminist alternative practices in response to the experiences of gender marginalisation of independent artists. Along with being sexualised and discouraged by some of their art colleagues and the public, there has been an emergence of alternative practices among female independent artists in Guangzhou, including alternative art production, space cultivation, and community development. Alternative art practices have not only diversified the expression and representation of female artists; they have also helped female and non-binary people connect to discuss gender-related issues and provide mutual support. Altogether, these expanding feminist practices, spaces, and communities have yielded everyday life strategies to negotiate and contest existing patriarchal conventions and imbalanced power relationships. My account also offers a view of changing gender politics within art communities in Guangzhou's independent art field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human creativity records and throws again the dynamics of social transformations. It expresses itself into poetics that must be costantly interpreted. These poetics exhort to think of the complex relationship between narrative fields, techno-communicative mutations and epistemological frontiers. The paper will focus on the analysis of the mirroring between the creative parable traced by contemporary digital choreographies and the speculative horizon. Object of the reflection will be some significant segments of imaginary, conceivable as transpositions into choreutical acts of theoretical assumptions. These theories can be intended as narrations of the present and of the future, particularly careful in the interpretation of the structural processes. It will attempt to demonstrate how by the actual acceleration of the computational power in the area of the simulation and in the area of the perceptual reorientation, the intersection between the spectacular domain and the conceptual one produces an extension of the operative sphere of the dance. Like many forms of narrative, the terpsichorean art is increasingly acquiring a heuristic valence. The dancers destined to inhabit the mathematized space of digital descriptions incarnate the connection between the political experience - meaning the latter term in its etymological significance - and the sociomorphic representation of the human body. The protagonists of the works examined represent on aesthetic level the sense-informational métissage realized by the process of cybernatization of the human being, reflect the suspension of the semantic duality between biology and technique, interpret therefore the chimerical reconfiguration of the statute of contemporary identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The purpose of this narrative review paper was to review the state and development of the field of donor gametes in Kazakhstan, compare its legislative and technical capabilities with other countries and identify key steps towards the establishment of a unified register of donor gametes in the Republic. Materials and Methods. The narrative review paper conducted an analysis of scientific publications and legal documents to examine the implementation of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), focusing on Donor Sexual Gametes (DSG), globally. It utilized medical publications from 2019 to 2023, legal acts, and recommendations from global health organizations to analyze eligibility criteria, legal regulations, and the social aspects of ART across different regions. Results. In Kazakhstan, ART is regulated by legislation, with DSG procedures governed by age limits, medical screening, and restrictions on the number of children born from donated gametes. Worldwide, practices vary, but there is growing interest in establishing a unified register of reproductive donor material to enhance transparency and accountability. However, legal gaps and ethical considerations must be addressed. Conclusion. The study identifies gaps in Kazakhstan's legislation compared to Western countries, emphasizing the necessity for enhanced legal rights for donors and recipients, including options for anonymity. Ethical concerns highlight the importance of confidentiality and data security in accessing the donor registry. Overall, implementing such a register promises to enhance transparency, safety, and accountability in reproductive medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Animation Studios: People, Spaces, Labor" explores the history and working conditions of animation studios, with a focus on Czechoslovak and Polish animation studios. The authors draw on various sociological and art theories to analyze the social, architectural, and technological aspects of animation production. They invite research papers that examine topics such as emigration and adaptation to new professional environments, the conventions of animation production, the professional and social ties of studio staff, and the history of education in animation. The deadline for submitting abstracts is November 30, 2023, and the full article submission deadline is April 30, 2024. [Extracted from the article]

This paper will explore community college (CC) arts programming and its interrelationship with social justice and social equity, arguing for the ethical imperative of the CC toward expanded arts opportunities for economic equality in this renaissance moment for the Arts and for CCs. The paper explores the history and development of the CC from normal school to open access gateway institution, positing these institutions as uniquely positioned to ensure equity and socioeconomic advancement. The paper discusses recent challenges and initiatives of such institutions and attests to the role CC arts programming plays in addressing today’s vast wealth gap and changing workforce demands. The paper offers suggestions for expanded CC arts programming to address three specific areas of need in a multitiered approach aimed at reframing the Arts as critical elements of an equitable twenty-first-century education, through (1) interdisciplinary arts partnerships, (2) arts study abroad, and most significantly, (3) development of an arts entrepreneurship/workforce development hub. Finally, the paper argues the need in this decisive moment for further exploration of the role the Arts and creativity will play in ensuring future prosperity for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Crafts Council (WCC) was formed in 1964, according to its website, "to provide services to artists and craftsmen around the world [that will include] stimulating of public interest in and appreciation for the work of artists and craftsmen, providing a clearing house for creative, technical, economic and social assistance and a focus of cooperation among artists and craftsmen." In 1976, the Latin America Region of the WCC hosted the seventh biennial general assembly meeting of the global organization in Oaxtepec, Morelos, Mexico. Mexican president Luis Echeverría Álvarez inaugurated the June event. The general assembly, under the theme "The Living Crafts: Tradition and Quality," brought together artists and scholars from fifty-four nations around the globe to convene for five days of meetings, seminars, and workshops. International cooperation was the aim of the assembly and the mission of the WCC. Using the backdrop of the 1976 meeting in Oaxtepec, the author offers reflections on how the fifty-first annual conference of the Art Libraries Society of North America, held in Mexico City in 2023, mirrored the WCC's international convening of craft artists, as well as the challenges encountered when conducting archival research across borders. [This article is an expansion of a paper presented at the 51 st annual ARLIS/NA conference held in Mexico City in April 2023, as part of the panel "Transformative Collections and Latin America."] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents some of the author's artworks depicting women. The author learned the art of sewing from her mother and her grandmother. She says that major breakthroughs in her work came with an introduction to Black Studies at San Jose State University and with a return to sewn cloth as a medium. She thinks that her work sidestepped the inherent culture baggage of the European painting tradition. She makes figures out of recycled materials and feels that her work reflects childhood games with paper dolls, her family's history in the U.S. and the role-of art to cure social ills in traditional African society.

Does our food for thought come virtually from the internet? When we take a long view, the instant stroke of a keyboard pales in comparison to the centuries-old evolution of real food harvesting and the generation and exchange of ideas, which have resulted in creative capital. The vernacular architecture of the agricultural built environment has almost dematerialized in its transition from the ancient pre-industrial era to the post-truth world, to become almost only an imagined concept. The symbology of the common threshing terrace of a Portuguese remote mountain village can now be found in multiple spaces of the urban realm, including in the metaphor of a community arts incubator's modus operandi in Albany, New York (USA). How has the concept of food for thought developed and materialized? How has it evolved? And what are some of the expected ways it might be utilized in the future? The purpose of the paper is to trace the evolution of this concept and its elements via the BLC Framework. The methodology employs a time analysis of approximately three centuries to distinguish three distinct evolutionary phases: (i) the pre-industrial era, (ii) the industrial era, and (iii) the information-driven era. The key finding is an up-to-date discussion of the food for thought concept in two distinct geographical worlds and three-time eras, as well as a set of lessons learned according to a protest poem and a rock song. The results are presented in the form of five lessons learned with implications for public policy: the first two lessons pertain to issues of procedural justice as encapsulated in the anonymous 'The Goose' poem, while the last three result from a discussion of selected verses in Nick Cave's 'Fable of the Brown Ape' rock song. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, valuable studies have been done about the paintings of the Qajar Period from an artistic point of view, especially visual analysis. But their more accurate understanding requires the application of meta-aesthetic approaches such as the sociology of art, since, based on illustrated historical documents such as the ancient reliefs of Iran, the social role of art was in the service of the ruling political class. Based on this, the following paper examines the social function of the first image illustrated in the number one of the second court newspaper during the Naseri era. The approach is based on "reflection," which could be used to answer this question: What social actions does the image of the fourth shah of the Qajar Period reflect? By studying the mentioned image, this article seeks to achieve a meta-aesthetic analysis, so the purpose of this article is not to analyze the subject from the perspective of visual structure or press graphics, but rather to identify the social actions. The research is done using qualitative and descriptive-analytical approaches. The data collection was done based on the library method and the analysis of illustrations. To answer the question mentioned, the approach was determined based on the theory of reflection. According to this theory, artworks convey many concepts about the state of society, such as the political structure. The results show that the expressive language of art as a promotional strategy has an effective action in the direction of strengthening the political and social domination of society, and therefore, Naser al-Din Shah consciously ordered the formation of a range of types of art, such as the court illustration press, in such a way that it is clearly able to reflect the face of the power and strength of his reign in a real way. This is important because, on the one hand, it reflects the social action of art for a long time, and on the other hand, it has reflected the twoway connection between art and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Artnodes is the property of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to analyze the movie The War Is Over (La guerre est finie—France/Sweden, 1966, directed by Alain Resnais and a screenplay by Jorge Semprún). The idea is to point out a possible sociological discussion on exile, mobilizing the notion of mental images. The methodological approach is an internal analysis of the film to allow for the elaboration of sociological considerations along with the expressive elements of the film construction. To do so, we shall focus on the "leaps" within the movie's narrative order, in which a main character (Diego) anticipates, through imagination, a series of sequences and events that might or might not have occurred. To discuss the notion of mental images and their relationship with the imaginary, the theoretical reference will be Cornelius Castoriadis' book The Imaginary Institution of Society. This article will benefit from the discussions in the presentations about the film both at meetings in Brazil and at the last ISA Congress 2023 (International Sociological Association—Research Committee 37—Sociology of Arts). This text is one of the results of research supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes controversies surrounding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and tries to answer the question of how NFTs can revolutionize virtual ownership. To answer this question, part I of the paper analyzes the technical and legal nature of NFTs and the ways users utilize this technology. This part also discusses the legal ambiguity surrounding NFTs and users' misconceptions about the scope of rights they get with NFTs. Part II analyzes NFTs from the perspective of two communities: gaming and art. This perspective is noteworthy because both communities had a need to simplify ownership of intangibles. Still, while artists and art collectors have welcomed the dawn of NFTs rather warmly, gamers expressed concerns about NFTs' utility. To understand the contrast this paper investigates how NFTs are used in the art world and gaming and what needs NFTs serve to satisfy in both communities. As one of the possible explanations, this paper suggests that NFTs do not make digital ownership easy but only make transfers easy. Because of this, users who looked for easier transfers got what they needed, while users who aspired to get the real-world type of digital ownership through NFTs were discontented. Part III of the paper focuses on the rights that users (namely gamers) would want to have for digital property and discusses whether NFTs (under the current legal framework) can give these extra digital rights. Part IV suggests a list of legal reforms that can bring NFTs closer to their promises. Part V concludes the analyses by discussing the role of NFTs for virtual property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Pictures for Schools, an art patronage scheme established in postwar Britain by the artist and educationalist Nan Youngman (1906–1995) to sell affordable works of art to educational establishments. Highlighting the use of works of art as a pedagogical tool, Pictures for Schools is contextualised within a wider programme of visual education, which encouraged citizens to be critical observers of the places and objects which surrounded them everyday in postwar Britain. The paper explores the ways in which artworks offered children a critical education across two types of educational spaces, the classroom and the art gallery. Using material from Youngman's archives, it visits a series of educational spaces where, in the decade leading up to the Second World War, and influenced by the educationalists Marion Richardson and Henry Morris, Youngman established the the value of the active, participatory form of art education she later promoted through Pictures for Schools. The paper then explores the ways in which Pictures for Schools worked to develop children's skills as critical observers. At the first Pictures for Schools exhibition, held in 1947 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, children voted for their favourite exhibit. At later exhibitions, held annually until 1969, children were given questionnaires which encouraged them to look closely at the artworks. This paper argues that in doing this, Pictures for Schools aimed to develop the critical capacities of future citizens who were asked to play an active part in postwar reconstruction and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we argue for the integration of collaborative art practice in transdisciplinary (TD) research to generate ideas and engage researchers and non-academic stakeholders. We draw on the virtual and in-person (hybrid) participation of members of the TD collective Space Ecologies Art and Design (SEADS) during Biomodd, an art installation that addresses global challenges in ecology, humanity, technology, and technological waste. Using survey responses, diaries, and meeting minutes, we reflect on the process, methods and ideation during Biomodd and map them to the concept of the "idea journey" discussed by Jill E. Perry-Smith and Pier Vittorio Mannucci. We find that while in-person ideation was driven by utility, materiality, and emergence, the hybrid mode provided favorable conditions for a feedback loop of expansive, individual experimentation and online sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Called Walls of Welcome, Philip Cote—an Anishinaabe-Algonquin artist and spiritual elder—created a large-scale panorama inside the interior walls of the Roncesvalles United Church's sanctuary in late 2021. Located in the west end of Tkaronto/Toronto—and believed to be the first Indigenous art mural inside a church in Turtle Island/North America (if not globally)—the wall painting visually narrates the Ojibway creation story and alludes to "The Eighth Fire." The latter stems from an Anishinaabe prophecy that we (human beings) can unite in our shared humanity. Walls of Welcome gives us all a message from the pluriverse and a spiritually fluid lens for seeing our foundational stories. My paper explores how this mural brings communities together through the power of art and builds a new world for trust-building and healing that epitomizes truth and reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a significant public health issue, with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at its epicentre. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been introduced to decrease new infections and deaths, SSA reports the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS, constituting two-thirds of the global new infections. This review aimed to elucidate the predominant barriers and facilitators influencing ART adherence and to identify effective strategies to enhance ART adherence across SSA. Methods: A comprehensive review was conducted on studies examining barriers to ART adherence and interventions to boost adherence among HIV-positive adults aged 15 and above in SSA, published from January 2010 onwards. The research utilized databases like Medline Ovid, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus. Included were experimental and quasi-experimental studies, randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, comparative before and after studies, and observational studies such as cross-sectional, cohort, prospective and retrospective studies. Two independent reviewers screened the articles, extracted pertinent data, and evaluated the studies' methodological integrity using Joanna Briggs Institute's standardized appraisal tools. The compiled data underwent both meta-analysis and narrative synthesis. Results: From an initial pool of 12,538 papers, 45 were selected (30 for narrative synthesis and 15 for meta-analysis). The identified barriers and facilitators to ART adherence were categorized into seven principal factors: patient-related, health system-related, medication-related, stigma, poor mental health, socioeconomic and socio-cultural-related factors. Noteworthy interventions enhancing ART adherence encompassed counselling, incentives, mobile phone short message service (SMS), peer delivered behavioural intervention, community ART delivery intervention, electronic adherence service monitoring device, lay health worker lead group intervention and food assistance. The meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in ART adherence between the intervention and control groups (pooled OR = 1.56, 95%CI:1.35–1.80, p = <0.01), with evidence of low none statistically significant heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 0%, p = 0.49). Conclusion: ART adherence in SSA is influenced by seven key factors. Multiple interventions, either standalone or combined, have shown effectiveness in enhancing ART adherence. To optimize ART's impact and mitigate HIV's prevalence in SSA, stakeholders must consider these barriers, facilitators, and interventions when formulating policies or treatment modalities. For sustained positive ART outcomes, future research should target specific underrepresented groups like HIV-infected children, adolescents, and pregnant women in SSA to further delve into the barriers, facilitators and interventions promoting ART adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manner in which individuals worldwide shared art during the most challenging months of the COVID-19 pandemic stands as one of the most significant instances of creative social resistance in recent history. As a collective tool of resistance against emotional trauma, and as a means to foster a sense of community and well-being, the study of this phenomenon offers a compelling avenue for research into creativity and its social functions. This paper presents a descriptive case study of a successful 50-day collective experience within a neighborhood community in Madrid, Spain, during a period when the city, as a notably exceptional case study for research, bore one of the heaviest burdens of COVID-19 in the world. Data were gathered through in-depth personal interviews and direct observations. Applying a connected approach drawing on the fields of the Sociology of Art and Media Studies, three key findings emerge: (1) participants emphasized shared live artistic performances as the primary catalyst for fostering a sense of community, collective resilience, and overall well-being; (2) their sense of togetherness was further bolstered by digital and media support, as recordings of live performances were shared with loved ones living elsewhere, as well as with journalists and on social networks. This network of communication played a pivotal role in connecting individuals; (3) the combined efforts of both initiatives contributed to the development of a more positive individual and shared narrative surrounding the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores grassroots community activist art archives and their ability to disseminate and preserve digital protest art in the period surrounding the Belarusian 2020 presidential election. This paper focuses on the cultural aspects of these digital archives and argues that they have become a recent source for describing, defining and communicating Belarusian culture in ways that have challenged the norms of political power and the centrality of the archives of state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Consumer and Community Involvement Results Conclusion While the adoption of strengths‐based approaches to supporting autistic adolescents is growing in popularity, the application of this approach to a digital arts mentoring program has yet to be explored. This study reports on the core elements contributing to the success of a community digital arts mentoring program for autistic adolescents from the mentors' perspective. This paper presents an in‐depth exploration of mentors' experiences, comprising a component of a broader line of research investigating a digital arts mentoring program for autistic adolescents emphasising positive youth development.The digital arts mentoring program spanned 20 weeks across two Australian school terms and was attended by two groups of autistic adolescents (N = 18) aged between 11 and 17 years. A qualitative approach was utilised in exploring the perspective of their mentors (N = 6). Qualitative data were collected at the end of each school term for each group with the mentors using an interpretive phenomenological approach and Colaizzi's seven‐step analysis method. Thirteen individual interviews were conducted with six mentors.This research was conducted with a disability arts provider to provide a digital arts mentoring program to autistic adolescents. The mentors employed have lived experience with disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety.Five primary themes emerged from the data: positive connections, mentor knowledge and experience, mentoring approaches, autism education, program organisation, resources and environment. Subthemes underpinned the primary themes related to positive connections (three subthemes), mentoring approaches (four subthemes) and program organisation, resources and environment (three subthemes).The findings suggest that prior experience, sufficient training, a supportive environment and a flexible and adaptable approach were essential for success. Understanding the core elements of a strengths‐based digital arts program in occupational therapy provides a comprehensive framework for utilising clients' inherent strengths and creativity as therapeutic tool, creating an empowering environment, fostering meaningful outcomes for clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, the public sector is interested in incorporating the arts into community development and service delivery. At the same time, scholars recognise the benefits of artists as co-creators in collaboration with government and nonprofits to solve public sector and societal issues. Despite growing attentiveness, gaps remain in the organizing structures, implementation, outcomes, and value of arts-based residencies in the governmental context. This paper builds upon existing knowledge of artists as co-creators to develop the potentiality of artists-in-residence with government. We undertake a conceptual analysis of literature in order to position artists as co-creators, advance nonprofit organizations as essential contributors and capacity builders, and provide a multi-actor model to build understanding and application. Ultimately, this research aims to advance understanding, impact, and practical adoption of successful artist-in-residence models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Posterior Fossa Society, an international multidisciplinary group, hosted its first global meeting designed to share the current state of the evidence across the multidisciplinary elements of pediatric post-operative cerebellar mutism syndrome (pCMS). The agenda included keynote talks from world-leading speakers, compelling abstract presentations and engaging discussions led by members of the PFS special interest groups. Methods: This paper is a synopsis of the first global meeting, a 3-day program held in Liverpool, England, UK, in September 2022. Results: Topics included nosology, patient and family experience, cerebellar modulation of cognition, and cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. In addition, updates from large-scale studies were shared as well as abstracts across neuroradiology, neurosurgery, diagnosis/scoring, ataxia, and rehabilitation. Conclusions: Based on data-driven evidence and discussions, each special interest group created research priorities to target before the second global meeting, in the spring of 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In documenting more than 200 years of artists and art communities in the United States, the Archives of American Art has long been an unparalleled resource for research in the field. In 2019, the Archives—in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Lunder Institute for American Art at the Colby College Museum of Art—launched a series of workshops designed to develop and share innovative approaches to teaching that history at the college level using primary sources in its collections. For this journal feature, workshop participants and leaders were asked: What is the value of teaching with the Archives? What are the rewards and challenges when students learn to think creatively and critically about primary sources? Their responses reach across the collections and experiment with a variety of learning goals. Collectively, they present the Archives' collections as vital to any classroom in which students learn to read, think, and write about American art and history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Art and aesthetics illustrate the cultural traditions and often define the identity of urban space that evolved through time. Street art and graffiti are underrated and condemned to negligence among the society residing in urban cities. Street graffiti is one such art form that represents the creative expression of suppressed minds. Architecture and street façade in historic urban spaces has become a canvas for their ideas and emotions, expressed as street art and graffiti. The question we face in policy-making is whether this accounts as vandalism or a public display of creativity and whether we accept it as a dynamic layer of heritage. The paper aims to examine the socio-cultural impact of graffiti and street art in historic precincts by assessing three selected case models in India. The article also discusses the role of street art and graffiti in society and their impact on urban heritage. This study will contribute to forming a policy for rejuvenating such heritage streets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current historical time is characterized by many crises that are deeply affecting bodies and their politics, amongst which feminist movements have highlighted an urgent "crisis of care". This paper discusses how this crisis permeates all realms, affecting the art world as well, and suggests that a historical perspective on the intersections between care work and creative work in the context of body politics can provide efficient investigative tools to address specific contemporary art field-related labor issues. The role and number of intermediaries involved in the process of artistic and cultural production tend to be all the more invisible, unrecognized, and exploited as the art world becomes an increasingly important and complex economic market. Under capitalist relations of production, the work of many is deemed economically unproductive although it is essential in sustaining the economy as such. This is an important, urgent, and growing cultural debate, which needs expanding within interdisciplinary research fields, as this paper suggests and demonstrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community arts have been in evidence in Ireland for over three decades; however, this form of artistic practice has been largely overlooked from social studies perspectives. There is a dearth of social studies scholarship on community arts within the Irish context, which may be explained in part by participatory arts becoming the more dominant practice in recent years. Therefore, this article works to introduce youth work, community development and social studies students and practitioners to community arts and to try and spark interest in this type of arts-based practice. The paper seeks to provide an understanding of community arts and to differentiate community arts (focused on and emerging from communities) from participatory arts (focused on individuals and groups and emerging from organisations and/or institutions). The history of community arts in Ireland is outlined and the contribution of community arts to youth work and community development is focused on. Drawing from international empirical research the paper highlights the beneficial role that community arts can have, in the contexts of youth work and community development. To conclude, the article argues that community arts can play an important role in youth work and community development because this type of arts-based practice facilitates collective community expression and can help stimulate social change from the ground up. The paper encourages youth work, community development and social studies students and practitioners to examine any preconceived ideas they have, that might inhibit them from helping facilitating community arts projects and set these aside; in order to, explore opportunities to foster cohesive magic and creative collective expression to bring about social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]