Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper examines how participatory place-based art - a creative practice that is attached to place, celebrating cultural heritage, and giving voice to people - can help communities that are vulnerable to marginalization, disinvestment, and gentrification to identify diverse assets and develop resiliency. While residents express their identities and claim ownership of space through art projects, people outside the community may also explore the layered narratives on site and develop empathy for less familiar “stereotyped” others. Literature in art history, preservation, placemaking, and urban planning lays a substantial theoretical foundation for this research, which demonstrates the capacity of participatory place-based art by analyzing the works of three community-based organizations (CBOs) working with immigrant populations in the United States: the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle WA, El Puente de Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY, and Project Row Houses in Houston TX. Through ethnographic interviews and other primary and secondary source research, the case analysis pays special attention to the community engagement processes that these CBOs employ in carrying out art projects, and evaluate their performance and adaptability. This project seeks to address imminent challenges confronting disadvantaged communities posed by discrimination, displacement, and globalization. It will lay the groundwork for developing a more inclusive policy framework that helps establishes social infrastructure, creates sustainable jobs for the local communities and builds resiliency against environmental and social changes.