Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Art and Public History: Approaches, Opportunities, and Challenges (American Association for State and Local History)

Art and Public History: Approaches, Opportunities, and Challenges examines the relationship between art and public history, outlining opportunities, challenges, and insights drawn from recent initiatives. With a special eye towards audience engagement and challenging historical narratives, all of the case studies and projects combine historical interpretation with contemporary and historical forms of visual art in unique and insightful ways. In addition to emphasizing the kind of practical advice found in the best case studies, this volume also offers a critical discussion of the concepts, tools, skills and technologies that contribute to fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration. These issues are addressed through sections on projects related to historical artworks; contemporary art and artists; and public art and the built environment. It addresses how public historians can incorporate art into their practice by outlining opportunities, challenges, and insights drawn from recent projects in the United States and Britain. These projects have taken place across a variety of platforms, including local and national history museums; art galleries; digital archives; classrooms; historical markers; and public art projects. The case studies incorporate the perspectives of different stakeholders, including public historians, artists, and audiences. The book will provide both public history practitioners and academics with useful guidance on how art can be integrated into public history initiatives, through critical discussion of tools, strategies, and technologies that contribute to fruitful collaboration and audience engagement across a variety of platforms. Readers will walk away with new ideas, strategies, and practical considerations for interdisciplinary projects to attract audiences in new ways. Review It is high time this book came out. Contained herein are a group of wonderfully disparate, lively essays about the intertwining of art and public history that inspire and provoke. This book will be a pleasure for aficionados of art and history museums, and a must read for any professional serious about complicating and refreshing the definition of public history.--Deborah Schwartz, president of the former Brooklyn Historical Society, 2006-2020 Art and Public History provides a creative playground with which to brainstorm ideas for creating collaborations between artists and historians. The authors make a compelling case for the power of such collaborations to bring the stories of under-represented communities to life. Case studies chronicle an impressive range of efforts, creating both professional guidance and a jumping-off point for envisioning new endeavors--Susan Ferentinos, Ph.D, Public History Researcher, Writer, and Consultant and Author, Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites Art and Public History is an essential contribution that explores the integration of the two disciplines. Based in a diverse set of case studies, the contributors present practical applications that include K-12 educational curricula, professional collaboration in museums, and public outreach. The volume is an excellent "how to" resource for engaging audiences, challenging histories, and making meaning in both public history and fine arts contexts.--Robert Connolly, professor, Louisiana State University About the Author Rebecca Bush is Curator of History/Exhibitions Manager at the Columbus Museum in Georgia. Her professional interests include local history in all its variations, especially in rural communities, and multiple-perspective interpretation. She often focuses her research on social history of the American South in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rebecca earned a BA in History from Kansas State University and a MA in Public History from the University of South Carolina. Tawny Paul is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Exeter (UK). Her work combines academic and p