Let’s change the conversation

Power lies with us all. The reality is that if you want change to happen you need to make it happen. There’s no point sitting around and moaning about the way things are. You need to get on and change them. If you don’t like the conversation that’s taking place, change the conversation. If you don’t like how you’re being represented then represent yourself. If the values you are being judged by aren’t the values that are important to you, then shout about a different set of values.

Working in participatory arts with vulnerable adults, we ask our participants: How do you want to be seen? How do you want to be represented? What language do you want to use? What space do you want to be in? Who do you want to talk to? As professionals working in adult participatory arts we, now more than ever, need to try to ask these questions of ourselves, and come together to make a real change. We need to have confidence in our own abilities. We don’t have to apologise for our differences, or try to fit in to someone else’s understanding of what’s artistically or socially valuable, or successful. We have to create a different kind of understanding; we have to start a different conversation.

Connected Culture is a new London-based network hosted by theatre company Spare Tyre, which aims to change the conversation around adult participatory arts by encouraging an exchange of ideas and practice, influencing policy-makers, and raising the profile and status of participatory arts with the media, with venues and with the wider arts sector. Connected Culture is supported by leading participatory arts organisations Streetwise Opera, Dance United, Clod Ensemble, Survivors Poetry, Bealtine, Hijinx and People’s Palace Projects. It developed as a response to a review commissioned by Arts Council England, London in 2009, carried out by 509 Arts, called ‘Adult participatory arts: thinking it through’: “Adult participatory arts is often specialised, involving practice that has been developed for speci?c individuals with speci?c backgrounds, histories or experiences. While often achieving the outcomes of excellence, engagement, reach, diversity and innovation described in ‘Achieving great art for everyone’, these can take place in contexts that are not accessible… Adult participatory arts can sometimes be a rather private process, managed and delivered by companies and individuals with a wealth of experience. It is not always readily accessible to (or maybe understood) by those who make funding and resource decisions.”

In its first year, Connected Culture has developed an online network where members can create individual and organisational profiles, promote events, share practice, ask questions, start heated debates, post pictures and videos, contact other network members.

Connected Culture has also held two events. In October 2010 ‘Art in our Big Society’ was a day of participatory workshops, performances, discussions and debate. The day celebrated a broad range of artistic practices including poetry, magic, folk music, theatre, opera, dance, storytelling, film and new technologies working with diverse communities including older people, refugees, homeless people, people with learning disabilities and people who have experienced mental distress. A panel including the National Campaign for the Arts, The Baring Foundation, Nightingale House (an older people’s residential home), Unclassified Arts, 509 Arts and a participant from a Spare Tyre project had stab at talking through whether participatory arts amount to ‘good art or good intentions’.

‘To peer review or not to peer review’ was a discussion forum held in February, looking at what we value in our work. Measurement and value are currently tied up very tightly with numbers of people reached, achieving ‘artistic excellence’ and maintaining a healthy financial bottom line. Let’s change the conversation, use our own language and ascribe value to participatory arts that has meaning to us. Let’s talk about, measure, promote, evidence, compare and strive for work guided by values such community, well-being, creativity, equality, freedom, diversity, inclusion, humanity, emancipation, subversion and liberation. It’s up to us to move the debate forward creatively and intelligently, and practice differently. Until we can show how our values have greater relevance to our work, we’ll continue to be judged by other’s values. Connected Culture is interested in hearing from people working in adult participatory arts who would like to feed into this debate.

The future for Connected Culture will be guided by its members. It is free to join the website, and current host Spare Tyre is happy to receive suggestions for future events and activities. The aim is to develop the website further as a place of sharing and virtual networking, to continue to hold two to three events per year, and to develop links with a growing national participatory arts network under the umbrella of participatory arts magazine Mailout. So if you’d like to change the conversation surrounding adult participatory arts please contact us.