Susan Mihalik
| Biography: Susan Mihalik is a resident scholar at the UCD Humanities Institute and a tutor in the School of Art History & Cultural Policy. Her PhD research investigates interpretations of equity and social justice policies within municipal arts sectors. She is interested in the role and responsibility of local arts agencies and their relationship with underserved and underrepresented communities. Susan earned her MA in Art Education from the University of Texas in Austin with an emphasis on community arts education. She has 10 years of experience in the government and non-profit sectors where she’s managed federal, state, and municipal grants and programmes in Texas. More recently, she served as a member of the Board of Directors for Art from the Streets, a highly visible and very successful programme designed to provide artmaking and income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. |
 |
| Research: Susan’s research investigates the concept of equity in US arts administration and its interpretation within municipal arts ecologies. Equity has been a focal point of public administration in the US since the early 1970s, but has not historically been prioritised in the public administration of arts and culture - at any level of governance - until very recently. Using the city of Austin Texas as a case study, her research aims to understand how local arts administrators and stakeholders in Austin interpret this theoretical shift and develop practices for equity. Social justice has been an objective for a long time in this field, but the recent focus on equity suggests a need for greater scrutiny of the underlying systems and structures that have precipitated inequities over time. To that end, the study centres history as a crucial element of equity praxis and examines the historical roots of this contemporary issue in Austin. This research will explore history’s role in shaping interpretations of equity and provide insight into the process of developing practices for equity at the level of local arts administration. |
|
| Supervisor: Dr Victoria Durrer |
|