Instrumentalisation: a convenient mask
For as long as I can remember, the accusation of instrumentalising art has been flung at community artists, as a
Category: Ideas
The invisible participants
This is quite something. The European Commission has developed a tool to monitor and assess the performance of ‘Cultural and
None of this is easy
A couple of days ago, I gave a lecture about art in criminal justice contexts. It’s not a field in
Anne Peaker Memorial Lecture
Tomorrow evening at the Young Vic Theatre in London, I will give the 10th Annual Anne Peaker Memorial lecture, on
Who are you writing for?
Reading yet another account of a community outreach project undertaken by an arts organisation, I could feel my heart sinking
Looking back at Bath Arts Workshop
In the course of working on A Restless Art, I’ve met many people from what I think of as the
‘Here we found a space to think’
When I argued – as I still do – that people benefit from participating in art, it is because of its potential for learning, emancipation and empowerment. Experience changes us. Powerful experiences, such as those that come from creating art with other people, can change us deeply. But that change is something we do for ourselves: it is not done to us
Resource: ‘The Art of Dialogue Cookbook’
The ideas vary in style, duration and resources, from a short workshop to projects lasting several months There’s are lots of nourishing stuff, some you might want to adapt and replicate, some that could just spark new ideas in your own work
Let’s talk about money
In the past ten days, I have visited two exceptional community art projects: ACERT in Tondela (Portugal) and Cork Community
Questions I can’t answer
It’s messy, difficult, compromised—but at its best community art can be joyously emancipatory. It shows us that we will only find pathways to a better place if we work together. We need each other. And we need to keep asking questions we can’t answer.
