Abstract

Many art educators are committed to engaging students with social justice issues to guide them “to know themselves and their worlds, and to live and act as part of community and society as critical citizens” (Garber, 2004, p. 6). This paper details an action research that utilizes an interactive and playable Contemporary Artwork Data Visualization (CADV) tool informed by Critical Multicultural Art Education and Dewey’s “Art as Experience.” The author suggests that this tool supports undergraduate students’ engagement with contemporary artworks that address social justice. Using varying, diverse artists as points of departure, the CADV tool initiated students’ open dialogues about social justice issues. Furthermore, using the CADV tool as a class built a learning community for students to understand various perspectives concerning social justice issues in the context of different experiences and cultures.

Keywords: social justice issues, critical multicultural art education, enjoyable experience, contemporary art, data visualization

How to Cite:

Zhang, X., (2021) “Playing the “Data”: Constructing Interactive and Enjoyable Experiences of Social Justice-Oriented Contemporary Art”, Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education 38(1), 139-159. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jcrae.4801