While art and culture are not explicitly mentioned in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, all 17 of the goals have at one point or another been touched upon through contemporary art. Whether it is in raising awareness about the need for climate action, peace and justice, or in stressing the reality of inequalities that exist in connection with wealth distribution and access to opportunities, in connection with gender and race, artists tackle profoundly complex subjects in diverse and ingenious ways. At the same time, they have drawn attention to the attitudes and forces in our society that slow progress towards achieving these goals in art works that are critical and often provocative.
Art is not always lauded for the vital role it plays in furthering these global imperatives. It has been condemned as an elitist hobby, instrumentalized as a wealth asset, and framed as a means of entertainment. Moreover, art institutions have not always served to support art as a potential means to further the SDG’s agenda of promoting “peace and prosperity for people and the planet”. As an art historian interested in the interdependence between artists and institutions, I spend much of my time reflecting upon which voices and subjects have been permitted exposure to a public. How works that challenge the status quo have been presented is of key significance. This was a focus of my NWO PhD research, and it is likewise a focus of my teaching activities.
Throughout, I draw attention to artists that have navigated power structures to realize works that are critical of the same governmental and cultural institutions upon which they rely for their livelihoods and visibility. A prominent example is the Border Art Workshop (1984-1989), a group of artists that used the Tijuana/San Diego border as the grounds to explore the intertwined identity and deeply fraught relationship between Mexico and the US. Another example, closer to home, is the citywide manifestation, Artists Talking Back to the Media in Amsterdam from 1985. At that time, artists made use of a wide array of mediums – including cable television – to compete with mass media producers and bring art directly to viewers in their homes. By focusing on such illuminating subjects through my teaching in the faculty, I seek to expose students to what can be learned from the conditions in which artists take on contentious issues, considering the essential role that art can play in mediating the challenges of our time.
Angela Bartholomew