Welcome!
ART. ACTION. CHANGE.
Welcome to Community Arts Practice (CAP) at York University!
a collaboration between the Faculty of Environmental Studies
and the Faculty of Fine Arts
Upcoming Event at York!
January 10 2011, 12:45-2:15pm
Come and join us for an afternoon filled with insight into the world of radical photo activism!
You can see one of the many community arts projects that CAP students are involved in on the left. Click the picture to see the full article.
What is CAP and who are some of the people engaged in it? See below
(Click Here for more details).
Community Artists take note: The CAP Certificate is open to students, non-students, activists and community workers. The certificate can also be completed part-time by graduates as well as by community artists without degrees but with relevant experience and/or training.
Community arts is a field promoting artistic practices with groups and communities to express diverse local identities and to raise awareness about social, political and environmental issues. Ranging from participatory mural production to popular theatre, activist video to group singing, from community dance to web-based activist art, we see community arts as a field that democratizes art, emphasizing the collaborative process as much as the product of art-making.
The Community Arts Program comprises education, research, and art-making activities involving faculty and community members, students and non-students. A central focus is an undergraduate certificate in Community Arts Practice for students, non-students, activists and community workers. The CAP Certificate is jointly hosted by the faculties of Environmental Studies and Fine Arts at York University's Keele Campus, and can be completed part-time or full-time. Students develop artistic skills, deepen their social analysis, and learn to work collaboratively with groups for social change. Beginning with a foundational course called "Community Arts for Social Change," the certificate is comprised of twelve credits of core courses and twelve electives in four key cluster areas, which can be selected from a broad range of courses including in Environmental Studies, Dance, Film, Fine Arts Cultural Studies, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts. The CAP certificate culminates in a final full-year practicum, where students have the opportunity to work in partnership with seasoned community artists in placements with local cultural agencies and community organizations.
CAP is the first certificate of its kind in Canada. A Community Advisory Group of distinguished community arts practitioners (in visual arts, theatre, poetry, music, film and photography) and an Academic Advisory Group of theorists, educators and administrators together guide the certificate as a whole, and the practicum component of the program in particular.
Graduates may be able to pursue opportunities with community organizations, art agencies, environmental groups, schools, theatre, dance and media companies, artist-run spaces, government projects, and international community development programs.
In addition to offering the certificate, CAP faculty, students and community partners conduct research, create projects, network and host ongoing events on and off York campus in partnership with communities locally, nationally and internationally. Graduate students with an interest in community arts work in conjunction with our faculty members, actively producing events, conducting research and collaborating with communities and organizations.