“‘What story do you want to hear about social practices?’ was the opening question Coombs posed to the artists she met. The responses are fleshed out in this engaging ethnography of a complex, contested field of arts practice . . . We can never get a real sense of the places, people and processes involved in social practices unless we were there, but thankfully Coombs was listening in, taking notes. The result is a collection of encounters that trace the ideas that have informed these socially engaged artists. The whispers between delegates, the discussions over lunches have informed Coombs’ own positionality and understanding of the stories artists tell. The way she has written these up allows for the contradictions felt in these practices to be aired. The book presents hope in these ‘pockets of resistance,’ that these processes and ways of working can effect change.”

Cultural Sociology

"Coombs’s important, engaging book puts the 'social' back into the often institutionalized medium of social practice. Through a series of studio visits, Coombs takes the reader behind the scenes, creating nuanced and telling portraits of some of today’s leading practitioners. Coombs's approach—at once critical and anthropological—is blissfully unrhetorical. The Lure of the Social captures the heart of one of the most important artistic movements to emerge in the twenty-first century, and one that is here to stay."

Chris Kraus, author of Social Practices and After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography

"Artists and activists lured to the social—anyone interested in leaping the walls between art and life—will find this book a smart, accessible, and eye-opening treasure trove. It is full of fascinating projects, many new to me, presented on a first-name basis through the author's intimate discussions with the artists and facilitating organizations. The pros and cons of social practice art have rarely been so intelligently examined."

Lucy R. Lippard, author of Undermining: A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics and Art in the Changing West