Visualizing Women's Work: Using Art Media for Social Justice

Discover the historical erasure of women’s work through social justice art

Public art has often ignored the work and legacy of minorities and women, but recently there has been a welcome reappraisal of publicly displayed visual monuments and art media.

This course dives into the artistic process, exploring how art has the power to address issues of social justice and gender equality and answer historic injustices.

Critique art history through the lens of gender

You’ll begin the course by evaluating public monuments in terms of form, content, and context, undertaking a critical analysis of art through a social justice lens.

With a focus on both the local and global picture, you’ll address the historical erasure of women’s work – compensated and uncompensated – learning about the role of gender bias in historical public art.

Examine the creative process and creative research

The course will also give you a foundation in visual literacy and interpretation, as you explore the artistic process and creative practice as a form of research.

You’ll then learn how to develop your own media-based or literary projects that respond to gender bias in public commemoration.

Examine real-world examples of social justice art projects

On the final sections of the course, you’ll identify and interpret existing art-based social justice projects in a variety of media, including site-specific work and web-based initiatives.

Learning alongside world-renowned visual and performance artist Melanie Manos, you’ll come away armed with creative and provocative ways to counter historical erasure in public art.

This course is designed for anyone interested in discovering how artistic media can be utilized to address issues of social justice, as well as those interested in social justice activism and/or methods of artistic responses.

This could be students and organizers that may already have a foundational interest in social justice and be involved in community organizing, formal or informal educators interested in furthering their understanding to share with others, professionals seeking to improve their knowledge in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and people just beginning their journeys in this domain.

Examples include:

• Art and history of art students and practicing artists trying to integrate social justice into their work.
• Learners interested in learning about gender equity and the historical erasure of women’s work in public historic and visual culture.
• Educators interested in exploring visual literacy and gender equity education into their classrooms.