Commentary: Arts, Neighborhoods, and Social Practices: Towards an Integrated Epistemology of Community Arts

Abstract

Despite a common concern for social change, the multidisciplinary fields of city planning and performance studies rely on different theories, epistemologies, and language. We argue that these fields share common roots and would benefit from integrating their approaches.We use three issues in community arts, along with a case study from Oakland, California, as a lens into this new joint epistemology. The first is the concern over arts as instrument: the tension over the social uses of arts and the arts as commodifying neighborhood. Second is the concept of audience development, often conceptualized as uplifting the audience without acknowledging daily lived experience. Third is the vulnerability that threatens artists and neighborhoods alike. A concluding section addresses the human capital implications of a new field of arts and city planning.