‘Arte Útil’ roughly translates as ‘useful art’. This type of practice focuses on the applied dimension of art, stressing the beneficial outcomes of projects for their users. The archive of Arte Útil presents case studies that reintroduce the old idea that art is not for its own sake, but a tool or device for social change.
http://www.visitmima.com/whats-on/single/project-space-1-the-office-of-useful-art/