François Matarasso

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  • (Other people) thinking about cultural democracy

    This is a quick post to let people know that Alison Jeffers’ and Gerri Moriarty’s book about the first 20 years of community art in Britain is now available as a free download. Culture, Democracy and the Right to Make Art, The British Community Arts Movement is an edited volume with valuable chapters not only by the…

  • Thinking about cultural democracy, part one

    Cultural democracy is an idea that emerged in the mid 1970s, in response to the challenge of the cultural revolution of the 1960s. In June 1976, the Council of Europe held a conference of Ministers of Culture in Oslo so that they could ‘compare problems of cultural policy in relation to their shared acceptance of…

  • Restless Research: Confessions of a Confused Community Art Scholar

      If you’ve read some of the material published on this site, I hope you’ll understand why I describe participatory art as ‘restless’. The tensions and ambiguities of the practice are inescapable. After nearly 40 years in the field, I still have many uncertainties about its artistic, ethical and political meanings. In May 2018, my…

  • ‘It’s given us permission to play, to take part, to engage.’

    ‘A Fun Palace is not a fete. It’s not about coming along and having a lovely time. It’s not audience development. It’s saying to everybody—you can do this; you already do this. You are allowed to make art and science.’ Stella Duffy Click here to download this case study in English (PDF 12MB)   Having…

  • What’s happening with ‘A Restless Art’?

    Summer’s almost over, soon it’s back to school Soon they drain the water out of the swimming pool Adopt a brand new attitude, a positive outlook Buy yourself some pencils and a loose leaf notebook Loudon Wainwright III This long, hot summer is slowly drawing to its close, and with it the completion of the…

  • ‘Just our imagination’

    Bridget Lambert has spent the summer painting a tribute to Dolores O’Riordan with children in rural Limerick.  The singer, who died in January this year, was born a few miles from Caherconlish, where Bridget worked with children from local schools. A Cranberries fan herself, she took pleasure in introducing some of the children to the music…