Collaboration is a good thing…

‘Collaboration’ is a word met by many raised eyebrows. It suggests too many cooks, lots of crossed wires and extra administration often for not a lot of brownie points. However, I for one am all for making ties and building bridges etc., and I was recently lucky enough to witness an exemplary venture which just confirmed my belief in the importance of collaborative arts on so many levels that I have to reign myself in for fear of gushing…

LightTAG is a collaborative project led by visual artist Tine Bech. It brings together the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), the University of Surrey and the South East Physics Network (SEPnet).

The project worked directly with over 70 young people who are either care leavers, disabled, not in education, employment or training and who are from the SEPnet region – Hampshire, Kent and Surrey. They took part in workshops where they learned how coloured LED lights could create light drawings and animations through innovative camera techniques to produce vibrant pieces of art.

What I saw as a huge success of the project was the interdisciplinary nature of it, bringing together art and science. Having the physical scientific aspect to the workshops enabled the young people to experience the more tangible side to art; its physical relationship to us in the world. It also introduced them to the world of employment in the arts, or not necessarily in the arts, but into other things through the arts. The project administrator was telling me about one boy, for example, who was really focussed all the way through and obviously found some outlet for his creativity in the workshops as he went on to soon find work in music production.

This is one story of many, and an accompanying catalogue includes comments from the participants on their experiences. This, to me, lays the focus of the project less on the images actually produced by participants and more toward the impact it had on them. I attended the exhibition’s opening night at the BFI London and was pleased to see that most of the young people involved were there too. It felt greatly encouraging to witness the pride and excitement of the participants when they saw their own work displayed in such a prestigious location, and only reaffirmed my belief in the importance of the arts for personal – and social – development; particularly pertinent in light of the Government’s recent decision to cut arts subjects in schools.

If such wide-reaching good can come from collaboration – and this is just one example of many – then who can raise an eyebrow at it now? It is important to remember in this climate of uncertainty in arts and culture that when managed properly, coming together only makes us stronger. Through collaboration brilliant things may come.