Creativity, Society, and the Role of Socially Engaged Art in Higher Arts Education

by Kai Lehikoinen

Overview

This interdisciplinary book explores socially engaged art as a subject of study and its relevance in higher arts education institutions' third mission—giving back to society and engaging with the community—to build a sustainable higher arts education for the future.

Drawing on data from two large-scale EU-funded projects—supplemented by interviews, educational document analysis, and secondary data—this book explores emerging trends in the arts sector and the role of arts universities in cross-sector collaboration, innovation, and actions towards social and environmental responsibility. Chapters posit theoretical analysis, case studies and practically orientated examples from countries including the United States, Ghana, Indonesia, and from across Europe to explore the growing demands for the positive societal impact of higher arts education. Located at the interface between the sociology of higher arts education and community engagement, the book explores a richness of international contexts including activism, churches, refugee work, eldercare, gender politics, prisons and many others.

This timely volume responds to the urgent need to investigate the full potential of socially engaged art in higher arts education. As such, it will appeal foremost to scholars, researchers, postgraduate students, and teachers in higher arts education and the sociology of education. Practitioners working in arts curriculum design, university-society partnerships, and those focused on creating inclusive and respectful spaces in higher arts education and research, will also find the volume of use.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032692104
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/21/2025
Series:	Routledge Research in Arts Education
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kai Lehikoinen is a University Researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Research Institute, Finland, and a Representative Board Member of ELIA, a globally connected European network for higher arts education.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Ten case studies: Addressing the social turn in the arts 

2. Socially engaged art: Definitions, complexities, and cultural contexts

3. Participatory potential

4. Possibilities of learning

5. Transformative prospects

6. Socially engaged art in higher arts education

7. Towards an academic framework for socially engaged art

8. Socially engaged art as a subject of study

9. Political and social awareness in higher arts education

10. From safe spaces to polyphonic spaces

11. Socially engaged art and the futures of higher arts education

Coda: Reimagining the role of socially engaged art in higher arts education

Editorial Reviews

Lehikoinen offers powerful insights into the ways in which socially engaged arts practice can challenge societal norms, foster connection and generate a sense shared purpose among individuals and communities. A form of practice much-needed in these fractured times.”

- Allan Owens, Emeritus Professor, University of Chester, UK; Honorary Fellow, University of Liverpool, UK; National Teaching Fellow, UK; and Visiting Professor, LUT University, Finland

“Lehikoinen offers powerful insights into the ways in which socially engaged arts practice can challenge societal norms, foster connection and generate a sense shared purpose among individuals and communities. A form of practice much-needed in these fractured times.”

- Allan Owens, Emeritus Professor, University of Chester, UK; Honorary Fellow, University of Liverpool, UK; National Teaching Fellow, UK; and Visiting Professor, LUT University, Finland

From the Publisher