On April 23rd, the Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) oat the New York University hosted a panel discussion entitled "Protocols of Participation: Recent Models of Socially Engaged Art in the US & Europe";With Creative Time (Laura Raicovich, ) and Nouveaux Commanditaires-Fondation de France (Xavier Douroux, Thérèse Legierse). Moderated by Thomas Crow and Alexander Nagel (Institute of Fine Arts - New York University). 

The discussion centered around the different ways in which artists and institutions attempt to create art in concert with communities beyond the art world and in response to the experiences, struggles and ideas within those communities.

In this video two of the participants in the panel, Alexander Nagel, professor of art history at IFA, and Xavier Douroux, co-director of Les Presses du Réel and member of Les Nouveaux Commanditaires, discuss the particular challenges of socially engaged art and the continued importance of making art outside the art world. Les Nouveaux Commanditaires, they both argue, is a particularly relevant example of this kind of political, social and artistic practice. An ongoing project, Les Nouveaux Commanditaires allows non-artists, often from low income areas, to commission artists to produce for their communities. Normally, Nagel says, "the conceptualization of an artwork and the occasion of the piece is provided by the artist and the supporting arts institution. So, it comes form the art world in to the world. Whereas," he continues,"in The New Protocol [Les Nouveaux Commanditaires] the request comes from the world to the art world."