François Matarasso

‘From little things, big things grow’

Between the Traction opera performances in the prison last week, and those that will take place in Lisbon at the end of this week, I was able to spend some time with friends from distant parts of the world who happened to be closer than usual. Yesterday, I had lunch with Àlvaro Restrepo and Marie-France Delieuvin, whose brilliant…

The meaning of risk in community art

Three days ago, anticipating the first performance of the Leiria prison opera, I wrote that I didn’t expect to see anything better, more valuable or more important. It was a small, calculated risk, the kind I make all the time. It really wouldn’t matter if I was wrong, but I was confident in my judgement.…

This is special

In the dusty hall of a disused prison workshop, 30 people shuffle into a big circle. Silence falls. They draw breath slowly, deep into their lungs, release it, go again, summoning the spirits of concentration, art, hope. They have little in common, except what they have made together. Two thirds are young men, serving terms…

What matters

“And then this: do not depend on the hope of results. […] You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea you start more and more to…

This is not a level playing field

Evaluation has become a dominant preoccupation in participatory art in the past generation. It’s a fascinating field, and I’ve played a part in its development, though my ideas have not always been understood as I intended. Indeed, I worry that current approaches to evaluation in the arts are misguided and even damaging. I’m working on…

The View from East Lawrence

Dave Loewenstein, community murals and living democracy Browsing the artwork in Dave Loewenstein’s online shop, I was delighted by this lovely image of the view from East Lawrence, the city in Kansas where he has lived and worked for 30 years. It’s a gentle tribute to one of my favourite works, Saul Steinberg’s ‘View of…