Art Collectives as Research Topic
This class explored the history, practice, and strategies of Art Collectives. This shared group approach to a creative practice is different than the individual “do it alone” structure created by most educational frameworks. Students were immediately intrigued to think about art as a social, democratic practice.
Lunch Break: The Collective
After researching contemporary and historically significant Art Collectives, the class became a collective themselves. First, they needed to find a shared aim. Self-care and community became key shared values. As students, they realized that our university schedule did not allow time for self-care or community. They decided to create an intervention.
The students created Lunch Break, a collective that provides free lunch for students and faculty once a week during class time. Emphasizing the importance of taking a lunch break as a form or resistance, restoration, and self-care. Importantly, the Lunch Breaks happened during class time to emphasize the act of “taking a lunch break within institutional frameworks that do not allow it.”
Over the course of 10 weekly lunch breaks, the community gatherings began to grow in numbers. Faculty, staff, and students started to meet for lunch. Some faculty even hosted a lunch break and their students created menus, place settings, and provided food.