The Institute for Research in Art will host scholars, curators, artist collectives, architects and social scientists in this one-day conference. Structured as a platform for questioning and debate, the 

conference proposes an active discourse focused on the multifaceted implications of socially engaged art. The conference will address the implicit cross-disciplinary collaborations that such 

projects entail, as they take form within the broader socio-political and economic contexts. Ultimately, participants will attempt to address the role of the artist and the contemporary art institution in 

formulating a sustained relationship within communities.



Marshall Center:  MSC 2708



Participants:

Rick Lowe (Artist and Founder of Project Row Houses in Houston's Third Ward, Texas); 



Dr. Grant Kester (Coordinator, Ph.D Program in Art & Media History, Theory & Criticism and Associate Professor, Art History, Visual Arts Department, University of California, San Diego);



Raul Cardenas (Founder of Torolab, a Tijuana-based consortium of artists, architects and designers);

Jamie Lerner (Architect, urban planner, United Nations consultant for urban issues and former, 

three-time, mayor of Curitiba, Brazil)



Respondents:

Dr. Margarethe Kusenbach (Assistant Professor, USF Department of Sociology),



Dr. Alan Moore (Visiting Assistant Professor, USF School of Art and Art History),

Wendy Babcox (Assistant Professor of Photography, USF School of Art and Art History),



Shannon Bassett (Assistant Professor or Architecture and Urbanism at the USF School of Architecture and Community Design)



Organized by Izabel Galliera.