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Model Model UN: Issues in Practice, a participatory student event, will be followed by a public Oxford-style debate. The goal of Model Model UN (MMUN) is to appropriate the form of Model United Nations to examine contemporary art, specifically in the field of social practice.

Participants draft a resolution that defines this emerging field. If passed, the resulting resolution holds authority over the definition of social practice art for a period of one year (or until the next MMUN).

The event opens at 10 a.m. with a keynote address by Bay Area conceptual artist Stephanie Syjuco. Participants will then divide into groups to evaluate the definition of social practice in four focal regions: Ethics & Engagement, Theoretical & Historical Frameworks, Form & Aesthetics, and Duration & Sustainability.

The resolutions from each focal region are voted up or down and condensed into one final resolution.

Ted Purves, chair of the CCA's Graduate Program in Fine Arts -- home to the first graduate program in social practice -- will moderate this historic event.

About the Debate

Open to the public
During the debate, two teams will argue for or against the single resolution “social practice is . . . .” Audience members will vote before and after the debate, and the winning team is that which sways the most opinions.

In this way, the public has the final say on a new definition of contemporary art.