Project funding undermines outreach

An investigation into the extent to which museums and galleries are engaged in their communities has provoked a call for a fundamental shift in the sector’s approach to participation. ‘Whose cake is it anyway?’ a report commissioned by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, concludes that outreach and participation exist on the fringes of the sector’s activities, rather than at its core, and suggests that decades of investment in participation-related activity, funded on a project-by-project basis, have not only failed to embed participatory practices in museums and galleries, but appear to have been instrumental in keeping this part of their work on the periphery. As a result, communities do not feel a true sense of ownership of their museums and galleries, and consider themselves to be ‘beneficiaries’ rather than active partners of their work. The report calls for a thorough reappraisal of the way outreach and participation work is conducted by museums and galleries, and a “root and branch review of the purpose and fundamental goal of this work”. Conducted by Dr Bernadette Lynch, an international specialist in the theory and practice of engagement and participation, it took the form of an in-depth study of 12 organisations of varying sizes and governance, all of which are well known for their commitment to public engagement. Project funding was found to be at the heart of the challenge of embedding community engagement into their work, in that it is responsible for ‘short-termism’ of projects and the frequent lack of strategic planning involving the whole organisation. ‘National initiative overload’ was also found to be damaging, putting organisations under pressure to produce positive reports in the form of advocacy to secure further funding, rather than reflecting seriously on the work. Working in this way was seen by many as undermining the integrity of community engagement work, particularly in terms of it being embedded in local needs, and long-term local relations. The research concludes that there is a role for funding bodies to support organisational change instead of projects, finding ways to help museums and galleries help themselves to connect with local communities through brokering mutually beneficial relationships.

Support for grassroots dance groups from around the UK is set to grow with the announcement of two new grant schemes from the BBC Performing Arts Fund, the BBC charity committed to developing performing arts talent. Up to £350,000 will be available in 2011 for Community Dance and Dance Fellowships, funded by revenues from the voting lines of BBC One entertainment programmes. Grants of up to £5,000 will be awarded to enable groups to carry out training, attract new audiences, encourage new members and raise their profile in their community. The Dance Fellowships scheme will support individual dancers through the early stages of their careers by giving them placements in dance companies, organisations, venues and agencies, which will be able to apply for grants to pay for the cost of hosting this. Nearly £3.5m has been awarded via the BBC Performing Arts Fund in the past eight years, but never before for dance: 1,013 individuals and 149 community groups have received grants, 900 musicians have been helped to buy instruments and equipment, 14 community choirs have received funding to commission new music and 162 students have been funded for musical theatre training.