A creative consultation

The relationship between artists and local authority commissioners has changed dramatically in the current ever-shrinking economic climate. Equally, local authorities are being challenged by legislation to think differently and more creatively about the way they design and involve citizens in commissioning. Whilst challenging, this new environment also encourages innovation and improved stakeholder partnership-working. In Warwickshire County Council we have embraced this through the commissioning of an artist-led creative consultation to add to the development of our all-age autism strategy.

Ensuring that people who access services, and their family carers, are acknowledged and valued as having expertise and unique knowledge to bring to the strategic planning process has always been a keystone to social care commissioning in Warwickshire. Autism is a spectrum condition and some of the associated complexities and barriers that exclude children and young people are around language and written communication. We deliberately looked for another tool to ensure that we removed as many barriers as possible to enable those traditionally ‘unheard’ to have a voice.

It highlights the benefits of offering diverse consultation methods

We have previously commissioned and evaluated participatory arts and health projects, so we knew already that using the arts to engage and involve has value. However, this was a totally new approach, using art as a consultation tool and there were immediate challenges identified. First, the artist would be working at eleven sites with different groups at each session and would not be able to build up relationships over a period of sessions. They would therefore need to be experienced in their own artistic medium, adaptable and have a good understanding of the issues and barriers experienced by the children and young people involved.

Alongside this was the requirement to extrapolate, interpret and evaluate the creative data and information generated in the sessions to ensure that it could meaningfully impact and influence the strategy. We also had to plan how we would manage the expectations of colleagues and the participating schools and colleges, in terms of validity of the process and quality of the outcomes. We were clear that this was not about the product and measuring the quality of the finished artwork; rather it was about offering a process that enabled and supported different ways of communicating and engaging, without being language-driven.

These issues were addressed by writing a comprehensive artist’s brief and circulating this UK-wide. We were not prescriptive about artform, inviting artists to respond to the brief outlining their approach, chosen medium for the project and how they would address the challenges involved. We used a two-part interview process for shortlisted artists: a formal staff panel and then delivery of a 30-minute timed workshop to a group of young people with autism. This enabled us to assess the creative, engagement and evaluation skills of the artists.

Over the three-month consultation period, the successful artist, Janetka Platum, worked with a total of 147 children and young people at 11 sites. She focussed on the overarching theme of ‘What’s important to me?’ exploring key areas like education, diagnosis and post-diagnosis support. As a visual artist, Janetka used a wooden mannequin and a variety of materials for participants to create a visual story or picture that they then photographed. These were used as visual prompts to work individually with participants to contextualise the images with experiences and quotes. The core themes and outcomes from the process have now been fed into the development of the strategy. Janetka said: “How we understand imagination is complex and varied. Working with young people on the spectrum teaches me that a lack of imagination on our part contributes to them feeling misunderstood. Creative approaches allow for different imaginations to not only express themselves, but also reveal original and insightful ideas we should be listening to and be guided by. I’d like to thank the 147 young people who participated in the creative consultation. I was moved by their courage to express the realities of their lives.”

The value of this creative consultation is significant as it enabled us to reach and consult with 147 participants, nearly double the 75 respondents to an online questionnaire for children and young people. It highlights the benefits of offering diverse consultation methods and firmly challenges the assumptions that people who face barriers with written and verbal communication cannot be meaningfully engaged and fully participate in sharing their views and aspirations. It also offers new ways for artists to engage with local authorities and adapt to the changing landscape and commissioning-led focus.

Rach Flowers is a Customer Engagement Officer at Warwickshire County Council.
www.warwickshire.gov.uk