University of Tasmania, Australia

The Art Of Engagement: The artist as intermediary.
 
John (Jock) McQueenie trained at the Tasmanian School of Art in the 1990s. He now specialises in designing projects which build relations between artists, communities and businesses and address social, environmental and economic issues. Designed to the draw the attention of non arts (community and corporate ) partners to the value of professional creativity, Jock’s cross disciplinary, cross sector projects go beyond conventional models of sponsorship or philanthropy, creating jobs and professional development opportunities for artists and adding value to corporate social investment.
Jock’s model has become known as the 3Cs – Community, Culture, Commerce. With his art and art theoretical training central to his practice, his consultancy work  includes concept development, partnership brokerage, strategic planning, project design and mentoring. His long term  (8 years and counting) project, C3West, with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney has resulted in the recently published book Art of Engagement.
His presentation will track his transition from artist to intermediary, provide examples of arts projects in diverse and unexpected contexts and discuss the largely unexplored area of brokerage as a practice.