Social Art Library (SOAL), 2020-2022
An interactive digital space, for and about social art practice. SOAL holds a collection of projects submitted by artists, custom content created and commissioned by Axis, outcomes from an artist/librarian-in-residence programme, and a digital archive of current thinking around the intersection between art and society. This can all be accessed on the library’s website.
During the complex and tumultuous events of 2020, the team sought to create a centralised hub for all things social practice, placing the control of its histories and narratives in the hands of those who knew it best, whilst developing a useful resource for institutions looking to commission new projects. R.M. Sánchez-Camus received support from Art Fund and partnered with Social Art Network to select 12 Art Ambassadors that developed innovative ways of documenting and archiving social practice. Their projects established useful and meaningful approaches to showcase knowledge within the field, and have been documented on the Axis website.
Postcard designed by Kitty Hopking as part of Art Ambassador Anna Horton Cremin’s project ‘Mycelium Mail‘ – A socially distanced postal game that encouraged neighbours to get to know each other through play, growing, sharing recipes and thinking about the future and the climate.
If you would like to learn more about SOAL or join the mailing list email: [email protected].
The SOAL Team: Lucy Wright (Head Librarian), R.M. Sánchez-Camus (Lead Artist) and Mark Smith (Executive Director Of Axis).
The Art Ambassadors: Jennifer Booth, Wendy Charlton, Sarah Dixon, Nathan Frost, Gabriella Gay, Anna Horton Cremin, Emma Long, Kaajal Modi, Sara Qaed, Studio Polpo, John Wild, Carmen Wong, Alice Bradshaw and Oliver Cloke.
