The recent “re-discovery” of social practice in visual art builds on a long tradition of socially engaged art in both visual arts and performing arts practices. There are many performing artists (theater, dance, other) currently creating within this framework. I will urge these performing artists to appropriate the language of visual art practice and situate themselves in that tradition, applying to visual arts institutions for financial support, resources and presentation opportunities. At the same time the emergence of social practice as a trend speaks to two fundamental shifts in American culture: one, a broad re-thinking of the role of the arts in society and two, a rejection of corporate capitalism’s demand that citizenship is predicated on being a consumer, not a creator or empowered participant in civic life...

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