Introduction about the term Social Sculpture

Social sculpture is a phrase to describe an expanded concept of art that was advocated by the German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), in the seventies of the last century. Beuys created the term "social sculpture" to embody his understanding of art's potential to transform society. As a work of art, a social sculpture includes human activity that strives to structure and shape society or the environment. The central idea of a social sculptor is an person/artist who creates structures in society using language, thoughts, actions, and objects. Social Sculpture revolved around four main axes:

body awareness - spatial awareness - creativity - collaboration

The position of the body in surrounding environment/location. The concept focus on the relations between the bodies to each other, movement, objects and surrounding space / environment. Participants are engaged in physical movements and actions, changing roles, decision-making, exchange of ideas and interrogating performativity. Sculptural and textile materials will be introduced as working tools.

Around 2016 I became interested in the principles of social sculpture. On the one hand, this was influenced by my previous work as an art lecturer at educational institutes in Ireland, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Germany. On the other hand, through land art workshops that I had carried out up to that point. In 2016 I developed a social sculpture workshop for children and students up to the age of 14 in collaboration with the theater teacher Denise Dröge (Berlin, D). In 2017, I further developed this social sculpture workshop into a suitable workshop for students and adults at the Pushkinskya10 cultural center in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since then, I have been giving the Social Cultures Workshop regularly around the world for young people, students and adults.

Selection of previous workshops

Workshop in Yerevan Armenia with young people with autism syndrome at the ACCEA/ NPAK Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Artduring the ARé Performing Arts Festival 

Workshop in conjunction with pIAR in Kumasi, Ghana

Workshop  Nepal Academy of Fine Art (NAFA), Kathmandu, Nepal

Workshop Casa Cultural Colombo Alemana (Goethe Instituut), Cartagena, Colombia. Foto's