Interpretation and Community 1 Published in Proceedings of 2nd Asia-Pacific Art Education Conference 2004, Hong Kong Institute of Education, 2004, pages 190-201. Art, Interpretation, and Community Terry Barrett The Ohio State University December 30, 2004 2nd Asian Pacific Art Education Conference Hong Kong Institute of Education Abstract Interpreting art can build community. When socially informed art educators facilitate discussions to construct meanings about works of art, there can be many communally beneficial outcomes. Viewers who interpret art in small or large groups can benefit by experiencing a work of art from many individuals' differing points of view. Multiple perspectives can broaden one's insights into the work and the view of the world the artwork presents. When a group engages in acts of interpretation, individuals within the group can also come to better understand their fellow interpreters, as well as themselves. One can learn that there are many different ways to experience a work, and that one's own way is not the only way, nor necessarily the best way. When art educators facilitate interpretive conversations with the goals of mutually understanding other viewers as well as works of art, the can achieve empathic respect for individuals within the group and a greater sense of community. Art, Interpretation, and Community This paper examines the benefits of interpreting works of art when groups of people are engaged in constructing meanings. When socially motivated and informed art educators facilitate small and large groups of people in interpreting art, there can be many good results. Interpretively experiencing one work of art within a group of interpreters can (1) enrich one's knowledge and expand one's experience of the artwork being interpreted from the many points of view of different individual viewers; (2) provide one knowledge of others and how they experience the single work of art differently, (3) enable one to see how one's own ideas and values may be similar and different from others', resulting in self-knowledge. These social benefits come in addition to the usual benefits of interpreting a work of art as an individual: A work of art, when interpreted fully, can provide knowledge of the world and knowledge of the culture in which the work emerged. When interpreting and coming to an understanding of artworks from cultures other than one's own, one may gain increased knowledge and appreciation of social diversity in the world. Such outcomes depend on what works one chooses to experience, and how one experiences them.