Let's play polo: you down with SPP?

I wanted to keep my introduction to this project as short and sweet as possible, but I have a few ideas I'd like to introduce or elaborate on here between now and October 10. Since grad school I've been interested in projects that occur at least in part under the umbrella of "social practice", particularly the participatory nature of many social practice art projects. More recently, I'm further intrigued by the intersection of these kinds of projects with ideas around "creative placemaking", which is a far broader term that applies to much more than the visual arts.

"Placemaking is a process, accessible to anyone, that allows peoples’ creativity to emerge. When it is open and inclusive, this process can be extraordinarily effective in making people feel attached to the places where they live. That, in turn, makes people more likely to get involved, and to build shared wealth in their communities."

On "social practice placemaking" (SPP) then, Cara Courage notes "the agency of such projects to galvanise people around arts and place." In this way, this project continues my exploration of the complex idea of place, coupled with a growing interest in community, both literally and figuratively.

You can help put the en masse into dressing up and going somewhere en masse! Join on the event's Facebook page and share your reasons and photos there, via email, and on social media using #letsplaypolo and/or #artmacro.

Let's play polo! A call for participation.

While visiting the Tate Modern in London in 2007, the visit took on a new dimension when I noticed that several of the other art-watchers were dressed exactly as my husband: jeans with a yellow polo shirt. It was as if, on that day, the uniform of a museum visitor was a yellow polo shirt. I quickly captured a few moments of this coincidence in photo. Suddenly, art spectators had become art participants. But then again, aren't they always? As this was happening, I wished I could do more than share the photos, but that I could share the experience of being in that space and feeling like we had become the art.

On October 10, 2015, I invite you to help me recreate this serendipitous event in a deliberate way but on a much grander scale by visiting a museum dressed in a yellow polo shirt, documenting your experience, and sharing it. Why? Let's disrupt the conservatism of museums with a playful "demand" for practices that challenge the boundary between art and spectator. Let's celebrate participatory, social art practice in the space where art is "at home." Personally, aside from being a fun excuse to visit a museum and support artists, I look forward to slightly embarrassing myself for my art!

At least, those are my reasons for doing this. Want to participate but for different reasons? I'd love to hear yours. Share them along with your photos, via email, on the event's Facebook page, and on social media using the hashtag #letsplaypolo and/or #artmacro.