Forces of Art investigates the way in which artists, artworks, and cultural organisations affect people and their social environments, exploring how cases of creative practice have been operational in empowering people, communities, and societies in their given contexts. It is a dense, multi-layered, polyvocal compendium of current thinking about the impact of art on civil society and social change, and includes many essays and case studies from around the world. The driving force is a shared concern and responsibility for societies with regard to culture and community well-being. It challenges the reader to think of art as transformative, not merely aesthetical or a commodity.