"The Arts, Democracy, and Public Life"

How do the arts activate public life? What is the role of the arts in sustaining democracy? In different eras and regions of the world, citizens have responded to these questions quite differently. As we mark the 250th anniversary of both the Phi Beta Kappa Society and of the United States of America, these questions have never been more resonant. The arts are key to advancing the rights of free assembly and of free expression. The arts contribute to social movements and to the formation of civic identity. This lecture alights upon a range of socially engaged art practices, investigating how the arts both shape and challenge our sense of community. Considering historic examples as well as those from our present moment, we will explore how public art can open us to new ideas of what democracy might mean.

Shannon Jackson is the Cyrus and Michelle Hadidi Professor of the Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley and the Chair of the History of Art department.