New masters program uses art for social change

Are you an art lover who wants to change the world? SFU’s new master’s degree in Art for Social Change (ASC), the first of its kind in Canada, is the program for you.

The new Master of Education in Art for Social Change will offer training in group facilitation, project management, communication, and ASC processes. The two-year program will launch this fall, with cohort-based classes to be held on Saturdays at the Harbour Centre campus. The degree also includes internship opportunities with local community organizations.

Judith Marcuse, an Artist in Residence and Adjunct Professor at SFU, explained that art for social change takes two forms. In the first, artists create pieces that contain content about social change and are intended to start a dialogue around specific issues. In the second, groups of people produce artwork about a subject that matters to them, with the help of an artist or facilitator.