Michelle Illuminato: Social Practice Meets Scientific Inquiry Meets Collab!
New article from the Pine Meadow Ranch for Art + Agriculture website. Click to read article.
Michelle Illuminato is an associate professor and coordinator of the MFA Art and Social Practice program at the Schnitzer School of Art, Art History, and Design at Portland State University. Illuminato dedicated her career to shaping new boundaries for art through immersive, community-centered experiences.
Illuminato’s journey into social practice art began in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, an old steel mill town. The project, “24 Hours in Aliquippa,” invited artists to spend a collective 24 hours in the town, creating works that resonated and connected with the local community. “I remember pulling it together and thinking how wonderful it could be to get everyone to see this place that was in a moment of great change (all the steel mills were shut down),” says Illuminato. “Most of the storefronts had closed up. I didn’t want people to just come out, do an artwork, and drop it off.” That’s where the idea and requirement for spending 24 hours in Aliquippa began. The project brought artists and residents together and served as an economic catalyst, drawing attention and resources to the area. The project, which continued for 11 years, underscored the potential of social practice art to influence meaningful change.
A core element of socially engaged art is the relationships it fosters. For instance, a project in Pittsburgh, titled “Point of View,” was a collaboration with the collective Next Question exemplified this approach. The group crowd-sourced residents’ perspectives on the best viewpoints in the city. Then they visited these locations to experience and document their unique characteristics.
Illuminato’s work revolves around creating structures for engagement, moving beyond personal expression to explore and investigate broader societal issues. This approach often involves interviews, explorations, and collaborations that encourage participants to engage deeply with the subject matter and contribute to the creative process.
Looking ahead, Illuminato is excited about a new collaborative project at PMRCAA exploring the intersections of creative thinking for science and art. Through collaboration with Dr. Jamie Cornelius and Michelle Swinehart, they’ll investigate how different fields of study can inform and enrich each other, creating a more nuanced understanding of pressing issues.
On the subject of transitions and migrations, Illuminato is contemplating her travels and experiences in Italy. “I’ve spent a lifetime moving back and forth between the US and Italy, first to study in Rome, later I lived there to raise my son, and once I returned to the states after about 8 years, I began to teach a class called CITYLAB for art students in Florence nearly every summer,” she says. Illuminato is leading the five-week PSU program in Italy this summer before her residency. “The class is centered on how you create a meaningful relationship to a place, through exploring, observing, collecting, and questioning what they are noticing. I ask students what they are curious about and give them opportunities to follow where those curiosities lead, rather than mindlessly lining up to see the David… or any of the other tourist guide suggestions.”
Join us at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture for Illuminato’s Open Studio event with her fellow residents — Michelle Swinehart, Dr. Jamie Cornelius, and Diane Wilson — on September 19th, 4-6:00 pm.