Submissions

Note to Submitting Authors

In order to submit an article you must create an account.
To create an account go to "Register" and fill out the web form.
Be sure to indicate that you're registering as an author.
Upon registering go to Login and enter your username and password.
Log in and select User Home from the navigation bar.
You should see your status as an author and a "New Submission" link on the right side of the page.
Click "New Submission" to begin the submission process.
For more detailed guidelines and submission specifications click here.

General Submissions

The Journal of Art for Life accepts articles that are theoretical, research-based, arts-based, and those that address the practical applications of art for life in educational, therapeutic, and other institutional contexts, including museums. We seek social criticism related to art and art education; inquiry into potential areas of exploration regarding art in society, especially focused on social justice and other crucial issues; psychological perspectives, including therapeutic programs which emphasize arts interventions; and investigations into possible roles for arts institutions as cultural organizations that benefit people’s lives. We also seek practical applications, strategies, and position papers about art and its relationship to the enhancement of life for individuals and the societies in which we live, in art education, museum, art therapy and arts administration contexts.

Call for Submissions

The Journal of Art for Life (JAfL) is welcoming submissions for an upcoming issue entitled: Intersections of Art Education, Art Therapy, Arts Administration and Art Museum Education for Underserved Populations.

With the forthcoming retirement of prior JAfL Editor, Dr. Marcia Rosal, JAfL would like to create a special issue dedicated to the far-reaching impact of her scholarship. Dr. Rosal has been an influential member of the Art Therapy field for over 35 years and has also worked towards expanding the umbrella of Art Education to include therapeutic endeavors as well. As an influential educator, Dr. Rosal’s efforts have been far reaching and her interests have covered Art Education, Art Therapy, Arts Administration as well as Art Museum Education for underserved populations. Her impact has left a legacy of greatness and this influence can been seen in educational and healthcare settings across the US and abroad.

Specifically, Dr. Rosal’s work with Art Therapy has focused on how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and group Art Therapy might facilitate meaningful encounters with art. Additionally, Dr. Rosal has worked deeply with the juxtaposition of Art Therapy within schools and museums. Likewise, her concern with social justice issues encourages us to carefully and creatively find ways of engaging in art practices that center on the needs of an array of underserved populations.

This call seeks work from scholars, clinicians, and educators that take inspiration or vision from Dr. Rosal’s work. We encourage submissions that exemplify (theoretically, practically or artistically) concepts supporting intersections between Art Education, Art Therapy, Arts Administration and Art Museum Education for Underserved Populations.

Submitted manuscripts should be between 4,000-5,000 words (although instructional resources or arts based representations may be fewer). Visuals and alternative forms of representation are always welcomed. Manuscripts must adhere strictly to guidelines set in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. All submissions should include a copy of the manuscript prepared for blind review. Authors should also submit a short bio of 150 words or less; this bio should also include a digital photograph of the author, suggested key terms, author’s twitter handle (if available), and a list of twitter handles to share the article with upon publication. More detailed submission guidelines are available here.

Deadline for submissions is January 31, 2017 – with an expected publication date of Fall 2017.

We look forward to hearing from you!! Check out our website journalofartforlife.org and follow us on Twitter (@jartforlife) to keep up to date!

Special Call

The Role of the Arts in the Learning Organization:
Schools. Museums. and Communities Using Systems Thinking Theory

Popularized by business models like Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (2006), systems thinking theory has been applied widely across organizations from corporate to social sectors including the arts and education. Systems thinking theory as a world view, or lens, sees organizations as places of co-learning, where collaboration and interconnected approaches to leadership and productivity are favored over top-down, or hierarchical, power structures and working in isolation (Capra, 1996; Meadows, 2008; Senge, 2006). The organizational tone is inclusive and embraces interdepartmental work, community partnership and context, and looks at the organization and community as a culture or ecosystem.

Recently, systems thinking approaches have been applied to art education and art museums (Broome, Marshall, Smilan, Jung, Eudy, Love, & Villeneuve, 2015; Jung, 2011). This new theoretical world view is changing our practices in art education, arts administration, museum education, and art therapy. More collaborative, community-oriented power structures are changing how we view ourselves and our work as educators, administrators, and therapists. Marginalized voices are included in planning, implementing, researching, and reporting to the broader community in new and exciting ways (Stephens 2013)..

Never before have our art classrooms, our schools, our museums, our arts organizations, our health and therapy settings been more inclusive and more globally connected.
As such, the purpose of this special issue is to share our stories and research that articulate how we are engaging in co-learning, sharing authority, embracing new inclusive power structures -- all leading to greater collaborative organizations.

The Journal of Art for Life is interested in receiving manuscripts topics including but not limited to the following:

Leadership that embraces interdepartmental collaboration, including community partners or marginalized voices
Shared authority in exhibition development, arts productions, community engagement, or art therapy planning
Student/audience/client engagement as equal partners in planning and implementation of learning experiences with co-constructed outcomes and goals
Collaboration leading to social or environmental change through the arts

Submitted manuscripts should be between 4,000-5,000 words (although instructional resources or arts based representations may be fewer). Please submit manuscripts at journalofartforlife.org - select this special call in the manuscript type.

Timeline

Articles due: October 1, 2017
Expected peer review period: October and November, 2016
Expected authors notified of acceptance/revision/rejection: January, 2017
Expected revisions for manuscripts due: February, 2017
Expected publication: April, 2017