Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Honors College at WKU Projects 2009 An Investigation of the Intersection between Art and Activism Emily Wilcox Western Kentucky University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses Part of the Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, and the Other Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Wilcox, Emily, "An Investigation of the Intersection between Art and Activism" (2009). Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 275. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/275 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College Capstone Experience/ Thesis Projects by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN ART AND ACTIVISM by EMILY WILCOX 2009 A Capstone Experience/Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of University Honors College at Western Kentucky University Approved by: ______________________ Yvonne Petkus ______________________ Kristina Arnold ______________________ Nicole Stratten ABSTRACT Art has social relevance and is effective as a means of activism. Current social and environmental crises make art-based activism especially relevant today. There are problems with prevailing views on art, which prevent many artists from seeing themselves as agents of change. Therefore, some established views on art need to shift in order for artists to become more empowered. Ways of utilizing art for activism are many and varied. Activism is often approached with attitudes that are problematic and ineffective. An art-based approach is a positive alternative because it stimulates empathy.