What is Social Motivated Art- Austin (SmART)?

SmART-Austin is a national pilot with long-range plans for additional locations in each major region of the United States. SmART is the only non-profit in the nation to focus solely on the funding and gifting of interactive art to the public for future generations to enjoy.

SmART was founded in February of 2004 by Robert Crumley.  The original intent was a way to increase relationships between people within the community. It is the goal to bring people together while working on a common product. That product is art. Art that is created and displayed and has characteristics that inspire immediate interactions that connect people to one another in a larger way. SmART believes that everyone has skills and abilities to contribute to this end.

Although the government provides a nice framework, they can only do so much while representing the masses. As a community-based organization, SmART has created and donated large-scale art installations that are as unique as the individuals who created the art.

Art installations merge the line between art and play, form and function, spectator and participant, individual and community. They span the realm from silly to sublime. It is through interacting with these pieces that viewers will give them value and meaning. And in return, they help viewers actively create the story of their lives.

This art deliberately challenges the distinction between spectator and participant, professional and amateur, the individual & community.  SmART’s vision is to foster "community" through a revival of art’s culture-bearing and connective function by removing it from gallery walls and re-integrating it into communal settings.

SmART believes students, professional associations, businesses, city governments and a diverse array of individuals can all work together on a common goal and surmount any reasonable obstacle.

by: N-ROd