About S3A

The Studio for Sustainability and Social Action (S3A)

Originating in the School of Visual Arts, the Studio for Sustainability and Social Action (S3A) brings together three campuses: University Park, Abington and Altoona, to promote the development of arts courses and minors through curriculum coordination; public art collaborations with communities throughout the commonwealth; a nationally visible biennial symposium and art exhibition; and a lecture series and workshops by high profile artists.​

S3A reimagines the visual arts at Penn State with sustainability and social action at their core. Following the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the increasing call for social action in response to environmental and human rights concerns, and the Land Grant origins of Penn State, the Studio for Sustainability and Social Action (S3A) is dedicated to sustainability and a philosophical and moral call to social action through artistic practice. S3A aims to reposition the ways Penn State values visual arts by emphasizing the arts, rather than design, to reveal essential characteristics of what the arts do, and to promote arts-based social action, environmental integrity, and economic equity. S3A seeks purpose and meaning through the exploration of the links between aesthetics, materiality, and politics, authentically exploring environmental and social change through the arts.

S3A has four initiatives:

  • Courses and Curriculum
  • Symposium and Exhibition
  • Community Collaborations
  • Artist Lectures and Workshops

These initiatives seek to:

  • Originate and support curriculum through new and existing courses and minors;
  • Organize a biennial symposium on arts-based research and education, provide travel grants to present work at national and international conferences;
  • Coordinate community art projects and socially-informed collaborations throughout Pennsylvania; sponsor a summer professional development experience for K12 teachers; and,
  • Facilitate lectures and workshops by artists of national profile dedicated to sustainable approaches to artmaking and social action.

Supported by a 2019 Strategic Initiative Seed Grant, Office of the Provost, The Pennsylvania State University.

This project is also supported by the Office of the Associate Dean for Research/Creative Activity and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts & Architecture.

Partners include the Penn State Sustainability Institute.