Dialogue-based art practices focus on the creation of artwork that addresses specific social, cultural issues and allows for communities to lead in the creation of cultural narratives. Dialogue-based artists and art practices are not rooted in exclusively identity-based cultural politics but offer new definitions of community engagement, and the role artists play within contemporary communities. Artists immerse themselves within specific communities and institutions and explore how artists co-create projects with a specific cultural group through dialogue, collaboration, and participation.
Dialogue-based art practices are based on the creative use of dialogue that can help see beyond our own perspectives using participatory and collaborative ways of knowing. In these practices, conversation is a critical part of the art-making process and is re-framed as an active multiplicative process. Dialogue and collaboration with community groups is an essential part of the creative process because this process can engage with communities to give voice to previously unheard histories and perspectives on society.
Dialogue-based art practices use dialogue to engage with communities to give voice to previously unheard histories and perspectives. These practices use a creative process based on the co-curation of dialogue-based art practices that focus on the investigation of diverse forms of artistic engagement exploring collaborative and participatory processes with diverse communities. The artistic process involves artists “make art out of a conversation” by meeting with specific communities and creating images based on narratives stories. The methodology utilizes a creative form of participatory action research as a means of facilitating a collaborative process with artists, project participants and community members who become co-creators in the research and development of creative projects.