Socially Engaged Art at RedLine
Discover what socially engaged art is and how RedLine’s programs embody socially engaged art practices.
What is Socially Engaged Art?
We recognize that contemporary living artists are increasingly blurring the lines between disciplines by incorporating aspects of social work, human services, science, psychology, activism, and education into their work.
Rather than creating exclusively within arts institutions, many contemporary artists are working with and within local communities to create art that inspires social change.
Opening reception for End of Silence: A Punk Survey of Gregg Deal. 2022.
Though relatively new to the Western contemporary art dialogue, socially engaged art* has historically existed throughout various cultures and communities.
Socially engaged art is a subversion of the ways in which white-supremist art institutes have traditionally operated. Socially engaged art focuses on centering the voices of artists who have been historically underrepresented by said contemporary art institutions.
How Do RedLine’s Programs Embody Socially Engaged Art Practices?
Image of a youth art mentee project from the 2022 Youth Art Exhibition.
By first listening to local communities, we co-create innovative solutions to social challenges alongside artists young and aging, housed and unhoused, emerging and established with these program areas:
Artist Residency
Our Artist Residency program was created in response to the lack of holistic support of and community cohesion with local contemporary artists.
As the only two year, fully subsidized artist residency in Colorado and the region, our Artist Residency offers comprehensive, individualized support for emerging contemporary artists during and after the residency.
2022-2024 Resident Artist Chelsea Kaiah learns traditional practices of pine needle weaving, beading, porcupine quilling, buffalo hunting, and hide work, incorporating her interdisciplinary skills to meld a perspective of culture and artistic practice.
While it isn’t a requirement that residents define their artistic focus as “socially engaged,” the selection process prioritizes Colorado-based artists who are socially engaged community members.
Exhibition Program
We disrupt the traditional contemporary art institution model by prioritizing co-authorship in all our exhibitions. Rather than employing in-house curators, we pair artists with curators to enable artists to build their own thematic and aesthetic framework.
All our exhibitions are artist-driven and responsive to local, regional, and national conversations about the intersection of art and social justice.
Gregg Deal and RedLine’s Executive Director Louise Martorano at the opening reception for End of Silence: A Punk Survey of Gregg Deal. 2022.
Every year, RedLine hosts exhibitions within a social justice-focused Exhibition Program. Our 2022-2023 Exhibition Program is titled Roots Radical: An Exploration into Indigenous Ancestry and Experience.
Roots Radical explores the dislocation of Indigenous identities from Indigenous persons, and how perceptions of Indigeneity are often formed by dominant or white-supremacist narratives and perceptions vs. the realities and experiences of thriving, living cultures.
Youth Art Programming
Youth Art Mentoring exemplifies socially engaged art practices by hiring diverse local artists and offering training in how to be successful educators and youth advocates. Our mentors use these skills to offer holistic art education experiences with a focus on social justice advocacy and student well-being.
Video from the 2023 Youth Art Exhibition, featuring 2022-2023 Art Mentors, Mentees, and our Art Education team.
By developing a strong sense of self and artistic process, students are able to create art that has a social impact, empowering them to become advocates for important social issues in their communities.
We strive to teach students how to think like artists—to not be passive observers, but to look deeply at the world and spark positive social change while practicing self-care.
REACH Program
In response to the lack of support for artists who have experienced extreme financial hardship, are unhoused or in recovery, REACH was created as an artist-led studio art program that offers an inclusive space for artists to build their creative practice together and take the next steps in their lives.
We believe that social emotional health is just as important in adults as it is in children. We partner with community organizations that support humans through life’s challenges through the use of holistic, restorative, and healing creative practices.
Artists are encouraged to decompress, enjoy human connection, and most importantly, just be. REACH is led by long-term Core Artists that have been in the program for years. The vision of the program evolves with the needs and ideas of our participants.
Regranting & Artist Grants
RedLine's regranting program demonstrates a commitment to socially engaged art by:
2022-2023 Arts in Society grantee: Storytellers of the Ancestral Red Road (SOAR). Indigenous Holistic Health & Creative Wellness.
Directly funding projects that address social issues
Prioritizing funding for artists in often underrepresented communities
Providing infrastructural support and capacity building for grantees
We invest in creative leaders through our regranting work, and take pride in the community we have helped to cultivate.
RedLine's regranting programs are community responsive, meaning the structure and process evolves as we receive feedback.
Our selection panels change every year, and are intentionally designed to reflect the communities accessing our programs. Both the projects we fund and the programming that supports that funding are socially engaged.
Creative Place-Keeping Projects
RedLine co-creates Creative Place-Keeping Projects to bring awareness, advocacy, and action around local issues brought to us by community members.
Our Creative Place-Keeping Projects are hyper-focused on our neighborhood of Five Points in Denver, Colorado.
Renowned musician Yo-Yo Ma performing at our 2018 In My Backyard (IMBY) project.
