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In The Folds: Transforming A City’S Identity Through Art And Social Purposes, Yichien Cooper

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

This autoethnographic narrative retraces my four-year journey as an art commissioner for a city that is transforming beyond the stigma associated with a significant role in early nuclear weapons to a growing agritourism industry. The looming pressure for change is just like when tectonic plates push against each other until there is a quick release, causing earthquakes and eruptions. In the midst of the changing forces, I consider how the arts fold in. There are two purposes in this article that investigates the complexity between civic development and art. First, I will (re)define and (re)frame (Short & Turner, 2013) the …