ABSTRACT
All histories are subjective. We cannot hope to fully capture the timeline of socially engaged artworks over the past half-millennium, but we can present a highly subjective one that acts as a starting point for inquiry. In the spirit of the collaborative underpinnings of ‘new genre public art’ we present selected, intertwined histories chosen by five individuals. These individuals operate from diverse locations within the field, and their selections reflect varied interests—from activist to aesthetic, from historical to happenings. While the legacies of socially engaged art stretch back much further, the boundaries for this timeline are 1950–2015 to allow for a relatively focused chronology of an already complex and expansive topography.
