Limits and scope of the recognition of art and social transformation projects in Argentina: community theater in public cultural policies (2006-2018)

Abstract

This paper proposes an approach to the recognition of community-based cultural projects committed to art as a means of social transformation. Such phenomenon can be observed in the consolidation of specific support programs for this area. The present work will focus on community theater, a practice with a vast history in our country, that conceives the State as a key actor in the dispute for symbolic recognition and distribution of economic resources. These actors have a relevant role in shaping an area that highlights the transforming potential of arts, being also articulators of many of the demands generated by this particular sector.

We understand the cultural field as a terrain of disputes over the power to define belonging, recognition and access to resources, where the concept of "culture" is used in many diverse, and even controversial, ways. In this sense, community theater has disputed spaces recognized by the State, leading to the creation of different lines of support. Therefore, we are interested in investigating the disputes, conflicts and negotiations triggered by these interactions between community actors and state agents, as well as the appropriations and uses of the concept of culture by these programs.