Art, Engagement, Economy: The Working Practice of Caroline Woolard

​Art, Engagement, Economy: the Working Practice of Caroline Woolard proposes a politics of transparent production in the arts, whereby heated negotiations and mundane budgets are presented alongside documentation of finished gallery installations. Readers follow the behind-the-scenes work that is required to produce interdisciplinary art projects, from a commission at MoMA to a self-organized, international barter network with over 20,000 participants. With contextual analysis of the political economy of the arts, from the financial crisis of 2008 to the COVID pandemic of 2020, this book suggests that artists can bring studio-based sculptural techniques to an approach to art-making that emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue.

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​Foreword​

​Welcome​

​Chapter 1: The Meeting​

​Chapter 2: The Study Center for Group Work​

​Chapter 3: OurGoods.org & TradeSchool.coop​

​Chapter 4: Exchange Café​

​Chapter 5: BFAMFAPhD​

​Chapter 6: LISTEN​

​Chapter 7: Capitoline Wolves & Queer Rocker​

​Chapter 8: Carried on Both Sides ​

This book has been developed with support from Moore College of Art & Design’s prestigious Jane and David Walentas Endowed Fellowship. The fellowship, endowed by Jane Zimmerman Walentas, who graduated from Moore in 1966, and her husband, David, underscores Moore’s ongoing commitment to social engagement by offering opportunities to thoughtful artists who bring their vision for the future of cultural production to the Moore community and the larger artistic community of Philadelphia. Caroline Woolard served as Moore’s inaugural Walentas Fellowship Artist from 2018–2020.

This book would not be possible without Patricia C. Phillips’ vision, Angela Lorenzo’s design expertise, Freek Lomme’s support, Paige Landesberg’s encouragement and editorial assistance, and feedback from the following readers: Jen Abrams, Leigh Claire La Berge, Jaclyn Dooner, Phoebe van Essche, Susan Jahoda, Paige Landesberg, Aaron Landsman, Helen Lee, Jenna Litton, Ruby Mayer, Sylvia Minehan, Adelheid Mers, Amalia Petreman, Robert Ransick, Tess Seaver, Lydia Thompson, Alexander Terjak Wall, and Rachel Yinger.

Creative Commons CC-BY-SA

Caroline Woolard and Onomatopee are happy for others to modify and share this work, with attribution, under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.