Art and Social Interaction : How College Students Spark Creativity, Purpose, and Joy in Institutional Settings

This second edition expands upon a program that teaches specially designed interactive visual arts activities to students to then share with individuals in jails, nursing homes, psychiatric facilities, domestic abuse shelters, and youth care centers.

Creating expressive art through social interaction with those affected, students are afforded an intimate insight into social issues of our time, such as crime, mental illness, and substance abuse. Techniques and approaches are presented for drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and crafts including projected outcomes and expansive evaluation methods.  Updates to the new edition include student reflections on their experiences and the influence upon their careers, and reports from institutional administrators on the effect of the program on clientele.

Delivering everything needed to set up the course in any liberal arts college, the book offers approaches for diverse populations covering planning and execution, aesthetic and humanistic objectives, projected outcomes, and methods of evaluation. By adopting this manual, colleges can provide students with education relevant to their lives and potential careers while providing a unique service to social service institutions.