Art, social work and social change

Art sits at the heart of social work and is central to social change. This thesis provides a beginning evidence base for this long held disciplinary view by examining the role of art in social change within communities. A shared history and common ground between art and social work was established using mixed methods within a creative heuristic methodology to define art and its relationship to social work. Inspired by the need identified by Hugh England for a theory of social work which incorporated a theory of art, this thesis redefines art in social work, from a bio-ethological perspective against a list of criteria for art, to suggest social work is art. It distinguishes this from the art of social work, which it locates in practice. Situated within the context of community practice, that is, art in community and arts-based community development, this thesis proposes a model of creative community practice able to accommodate both disciplines. Extensive literature findings were examined empirically to ascertain the effectiveness of art as an intervention through the ‘Safe at Home’ project. This nested study tested the effectiveness of arts-based community development in raising community awareness of and changing attitudes to domestic and family violence within a real-world context, and the implications for practice. This is a unique study in that no empirical research could be found which had been designed to determine if art raises awareness of or changes attitudes to domestic and family violence. Blending art with science, a social intervention research model was used to gather baseline data via a community-wide survey, implement eight art-based interventions using an embedded art practice as research method to collect data, and gather post-intervention data via a neighbourhood survey. Limited to the early phases of the social intervention research process, findings suggest art is not effective in achieving short-term attitudinal change, but establishes a climate conducive to change. The difference between disciplines in community practice centre on ethics and findings support the inclusion of ethics in art education. Findings indicate art is a form of unconscious knowledge which opens the potential for greater understanding of the tacit workings of social work practice.