Social work as art: towards an artistic aesthetics of social work

Abstract

This text has the purpose of reviewing and reflecting on the aesthetic and artistic features of the practice of social work. In particular, different theoretical sources on the concept of social work as art that have been recovered from the scientific literature in relation to the nature of social work are presented and discussed. Thus, for example, we review the approaches of authors such as Hugh England, who incorporates the aesthetic dimensions of art for the practice of social work, and which, in this text, are put in relation to the contributions of other authors and current epistemological perspectives. In this sense, the conceptual development of aesthetics is taken into account, especially in the art world, to also explore the practice of social work as an artistic activity with aesthetic content. Specifically, we discuss and conclude that narrative processes and dialogic exchange can articulate the aesthetic sensitivity of the experience of emotions and senses from social work.