No-one wants to participate in participation designed by somebody else
As a personal project, I want to celebrate as many of these creative symbols of hope as we can and create a 'Rainbow Map' of these Rainbows. If you’ve taken one of these pictures, then you can add to this Rainbow Map by going to https://bit.ly/2z6yU5D and: (I've created a 'how to' video below to... Continue Reading →
“Staff not furloughed have become ‘unproducers’ – dismantling the arrangements for future productions, exhibitions, festivals and events. It’s like producing, but with more pressure and no reward. Others are rapidly creating the digital offer through which you hope to keep an audience and demonstrate that, behind the shuttered facade, everything is fine – no, really, we’re coping, still working, thanks for asking. We’ll be back, very soon.”
This is an awful moment to be responsible for a cultural institution. Forced to close the doors overnight, you are flung into a torrent of demands and unprecedented decisions. There are staff who will need paying within days; freelance artists who can’t do their work; fridges of perishable food in the café; health hazards to assess; anxious trustees to reassure; donors to placate. Emails and phone calls flood in at all hours, each one asking questions you can’t answer, if only because you have no idea when you will reopen or in what conditions. After the first hours, you’re trying to save money wherever you must while honouring commitments where you can. Staff not furloughed have become ‘unproducers’ – dismantling the arrangements for future productions, exhibitions, festivals and events. It’s like producing, but with more pressure and no reward. Others are rapidly creating the digital offer through which you hope…
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We are currently living in an unimaginable time in our human history. Viruses have come and gone before, but never have we had such an ability to stay connected and access news, activities, education, entertainment and creative opportunities without leaving our homes. We are now participating in activities with more people worldwide than we ever... Continue Reading →
When we think of digital participation in arts and culture, we think of projects or works being led/created by demographics of ‘non-artists’. However, there are also those participating in an artist’s practice who are part of the creation of an artist’s work, rather than creating for themselves. These participants can vary from a specific community group to other professionals in the same or other art form(s).
Testing practice and new concepts Digital itself can be a barrier when engaging with the arts, either through perception of one’s own abilities and confidence, or an uncertainty of something unfamiliar. When working with digital in participatory practice, like participants themselves, digital can have a varied influence and impact on a project or workshop activity.... Continue Reading →
Before I start this brief collection of thoughts and observations into the current position of what we know as ‘digital participation’ in the arts and culture sector, it is important for me to note that this is just that, my thoughts and feelings to where artists and organisation are in relation to the facilitation and... Continue Reading →
Digital Participation Expedition The second event in the Digital Participation Expedition with EMPAF focused on the levels and types of inputs participants have in digital engagement, while also opening discussion around the dangers of digital in our lives. The event looked at how these engagements present participants with real or presented power when it comes to creating and interacting with digital art... Continue Reading →
Data, data, data... When working in a participatory context, arts organisations document and share creative work, participant image and information. Their words, their work and, in a lot of cases, their thoughts. The standard consent forms can simply ask about the capturing and sharing of a participant's image, their ethnicity, sex, gender, age etc, but with digital... Continue Reading →
A Soap Box presentation delivered at the Engage Conference, 13-14 Nov 2018 Soapbox Presentation Slide Derby QUAD’s Creative Wellbeing programme has created strong links with local health and care services over several years. For 2018, the exhibition and programme theme of “Wellbeing” has been used to strengthen these links and explore new opportunities and ways... Continue Reading →
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 12-14 Nov 2018 Highlights and thoughts Engage Conference 2018 at the Whitworth Art Gallery. Credit David Lindsay How to encapsulate three days of keynotes, practical workshops, presentations, fringe events, discussions, thoughts and an absolute sense of wellbeing for participants and those working in the arts? The Engage Conference is the biggest... Continue Reading →
