Driven by a powerful belief in the value of free expression, Sheryl Oring has for more than a decade been helping people across the United States voice concerns about public affairs through her “I Wish to Say” project. This book uses that project as the starting point for an exploration of a series of issues of public interest being addressed by artists today. It features essays by contributors ranging from art historians and practicing artists to scholars and creators working in literature, political science, and architecture. All the contributors offer a different approach, but they share a primary goal of sparking a dialogue not just among makers of art, but among viewers, readers, and the concerned public at large. The resulting volume will be an essential resource for politically engaged contemporary artists searching for innovative, cross-disciplinary ways of making and sharing art.   "Sheryl Oring’s multiyear, ongoing I Wish to Say project—in which she sets up a desk with a typewriter and invites people to dictate a letter to the President or a presidential candidate, which she types and sends—is a catalyst for a deeper look at artists’ intersection with public policy." ― Public Art Review "The essays in this volume play off one another, building a robust and comprehensive understanding of Oring’s practice. More than anything, the book conveys that after thirteen years of postcards, Oring, above all else, has listened. She has continued her project through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, through turbulent election cycles, amid a variety of viewpoints and constituents. In an age where postcards have been replaced by tweets, she takes the time to slow down and emboldens others to do so as well. She asks participants to articulate what they want to say while she commits their words to paper. They contain the hopes, opinions, stories, and critiques all too often expressed but so rarely heard." ― CAA Reviews Sheryl Oring is assistant professor of art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as a practicing artist.   Activating Democracy The "I Wish to Say" Project By Sheryl Oring Intellect Ltd Copyright © 2016 Intellect Ltd All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-78320-671-1 Contents Acknowledgments, IX, Preface Sheryl Oring, XI, Taking a Moment to Have a Say Corey Dzenko, 01, "I WISH TO SAY:" 2004, 07, PART I Ruminations: The Artist's Perspective, 31, Ruminations: The Artist's Perspective, Sheryl Oring, 33, The Typewriter: An Ode to Its Smells, Sounds, and Tactile Responses Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, 37, The Look: Patty and Her Avatars Santiago Echeverry, 41, The Question: The Door to What We Most Want to Know Chloe Bass, 45, The Camera: Coming to Terms with Photographing People Dhanraj Emanuel, 47, The Digital Archive: Maintaining Privacy by Giving It All Away Hasan Elahi, 49, The Paper, the Game, and the City Park: Places for Things to Happen Lee Walton, 55, The Street: Fleeting Situations and Doings Ed Woodham, 61, The City: The Political Equator and the Radicalization of the Local Teddy Cruz, 67, The Road: Stories From the Navajo Nation Stephanie Elizondo Griest, 71, Dissent: American Style Ricardo Dominguez, 75, I WISH TO SAY:" 2008, 79, PART II Frameworks: Scholarly Views, 99, Frameworks: Scholarly Views Sheryl Oring, 101, Toward a Sociability of Objects Edward Sterrett, 103, Socially Engaged Art, Photography, and Art History Bill Anthes, 111, Activism's Art: A (Very) Brief History of Social Practice and Artist Books Miriam Schaer, 115, Free Speech in a Digital Era David Greene, 121, Efficacy, Trust, and the Future of Civic Engagement DavidB. Holian, 127, "I WISH TO SAY:" 2010 TO 2016, 133, PART III Conclusion: Listening and the Power of Small Acts, 159, Conclusion: Listening and the Power of Small Acts Sheryl Oring, 161, Turning Strangers into Neighbors Kemi Ilesanmi, 163, Let It Linger George Scheer, 167, Small Acts, Forlorn Practices Radhika Subramaniam, 171, PART IV Postscript: An Activist's Discourse, 177, Postscript: An Activist's Discourse Sheryl Oring, 179, Q&A: Sheryl Oring and Svetlana Mintcheva, 181, "I WISH TO SAY:" SEQUELS, 193, "I WISH TO SAY:" Chronology and Credits, 207, Endnotes, 213, Bibliography, 215, About the Contributors, 219, CHAPTER 1 RUMINATIONS: THE ARTIST'S PERSPECTIVE Sheryl Oring Los Angeles-based writer Sarah Shun-lien Bynum starts out this section of artists' ruminations with a lyrical ode to the typewriter. "Do I mourn the typewriter's passing?" asks Bynum, the author of two novels. Her equivocal response to the question could well be my own. "My senses certainly do," she says, "the computer cannot come close to matching its array of smells and sounds and tactile responses – but to make any further claims of regret would be insincere: every story, essay, poem, term paper, and piece of correspondence I have written since the age of fifteen I have c