Going Public

The Art of Participatory Practice

Going Public responds to the urgent need to expand current thinking on what it means to co-create, to actively involve the public in research, and to reconceptualize research for public consumption. As researchers are increasingly taking their research from the campus to the public arena, what are the ethics of, and expectations for, social impact? New technologies, platforms, and methods are challenging community-engaged artists, academics, and media makers to rethink their approaches to collaboration. This book encourages practitioners to spend their time not only on “production,” but also on finding ways to use what is produced to open spaces of dialogue and action. Drawing on conversations with over thirty researchers and artists across multiple cultures and disciplines, it examines the ways in which oral historians, media producers, and theatre artists use art, stories, and participatory practices to engage creatively with their publics. The authors provide an overview of community-engaged practices and present case studies that grapple with issues of class struggle, gentrification, violence against women, and Indigenous rights. Going Public offers insights into long-standing concerns around voice, aesthetics, appropriation, privilege, power dynamics, and the ethics of participation. It reveals that the shift towards participatory research and creative practices requires a commitment to asking tough questions about oneself and the ways that people’s stories are used.