Speak your truth
It’s unusual nowadays to hear anyone in the arts speak against cultural participation. The directors of museums, galleries, orchestras and theatres –
Talking with Northern Heartlands
In February, I spent a couple of days in County Durham, meeting artists and local people involved in the Northern
Which murals are worth saving?
Murals were a cornerstone of the early community art movement. Between the 1960s and 1990s, hundreds were painted, mostly outdoors,
Community opera in a pandemic
In February, I participated in the kick-off meeting of TRACTION, a Horizon 2020 project researching how digital technology can support
Art for social change – or social justice?
In 1990s Britain the term community art began to be replaced by participatory arts, which many people hoped didn’t carry ‘the baggage of
Clinging on in a tsunami: the arts and mental health
Since the beginning of 2020, the Baring Foundation has focused its arts support on the needs of people with metal health problems,
Remote residencies: a paid opportunity for community artists in England
In the last post on this site, I wrote about the challenges that Covid-19 presents to anyone who makes community
An open letter about community art
Community art has proved its value over 50 years (and more) so its recognition in Arts Council England’s new strategy
Making community art in a time of coronavirus
Arlene Goldbard and I hosted our second online conversation last Thursday evening. It felt very different to me, as our
A satisfactory philosophy of ignorance
If you know that you are not sure, you have a chance to improve the situation. Richard P. Feynman, The Meaning
Witnessing as resistance
Community art performance by Olho.Te, (Madeira) In A Restless Art I describe participatory art – the vast field that has spread from
