Adult Education: Conflicts and Connections

Abstract

In more recent years, many artists have embraced the role of the socially engaged practitioner. While the connection between art and the social is laced with challenging issues such as authorship, morality and ethics – when it comes to making social practice in divided and contested societies these issues are significantly magnified. Many of these points were addressed in the Malta seminar and tensions emerged between what some see as the exploitation of art to be ‘used’ as a tool for social change, thereby touching on the instrumentalization agenda while others questioned the relevance of art education if it is not addressing the urgencies of our time.