An interesting read.....
Author: Joanne Sharp, Venda Pollock and Ronan Paddison
Urban Studies, Vol. 42, Nos 5/6, 1001– 1023, May 2005
Showing posts with label social inclusion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social inclusion. Show all posts
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Just Art for a Just City
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Social impact of the Arts project - University of Pennsylvania
It is obvious that the Arts lends itself to community development and social inclusion but quantifying and clearly articulating the benefits of community art and cultural initiatives can often prove difficult. Nineteen years ago the Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP) a research group from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia started to use statistical analysis and qualitative investigation to identify social impacts at the neighborhood level.
"We began in 1994 to ask questions about and develop methods to examine the impact of the arts and culture on community life. Our research focuses on the relationship of the arts to community change, with a particular interest in strategies for arts-based neighborhood revitalization and social inclusion."
When it comes to applying for grant funding and justifying the merit of art based community projects such research is invaluable.
Check out these websites for more information.
www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP/
http://www.trfund.com/resource/creativity.html
"We began in 1994 to ask questions about and develop methods to examine the impact of the arts and culture on community life. Our research focuses on the relationship of the arts to community change, with a particular interest in strategies for arts-based neighborhood revitalization and social inclusion."
When it comes to applying for grant funding and justifying the merit of art based community projects such research is invaluable.
Check out these websites for more information.
www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP/
http://www.trfund.com/resource/creativity.html
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Building cultural harmony and wellbeing
Cultural Infusion is a not-for-profit organisation that works in education, youth, communities and the arts to promote cultural harmony and wellbeing for a more cohesive and richer society. Cultural Infusion is dedicated to promoting equality, social justice and encouraging a broader understanding of culture across our community for the benefit of all.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Art for Social Action - Art Corps
ArtCorps is a dynamic social enterprise using the arts to advance social change in developing countries. Each year, ArtCorps sends volunteer professional artists to support the environmental, public health and human rights initiatives of Central American organizations. During their one- to two- year placements, the artists use murals, theater, stories, puppetry and other creative facilitation techniques to educate and inspire people to participate actively in improving their communities. ArtCorps artists train both community members and organization staff in our field-tested Art for Social Action methodology.
Since 2000, ArtCorps has sent 49 artists from around the world to train more than 20 different organizations in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to incorporate art and culture as a tool for engagement and empowerment, impacting over 50,000 people in more than 180 communities.
Theater for Change from ArtCorps on Vimeo.
Murals of Memory from ArtCorps on Vimeo.
(Information taken from ArtCorps Vimeo Account)Tuesday, July 26, 2011
National Social Inclusion Forum
This national forum is themed Building Inclusive Societies: Multiculturalism, Citizenship, Identity. It will be held on 7 October in Melbourne at the Melbourne Town Hall, with the Post- Forum Reception at the Immigration Museum.
For more information and to register, visit http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/ccg/events/conferences/11-ibis/index.php
Information taken from http://www.socialinclusion.gov.au/node/161
For more information and to register, visit http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/ccg/events/conferences/11-ibis/index.php
Information taken from http://www.socialinclusion.gov.au/node/161
Sunday, April 3, 2011
How can we use social media to promote social inclusion?
Check out this presentation from the Museum of London - How museums can promote social inclusion using social media.
http://www.slideshare.net/sounddelivery/museum-of-london-inclusion-prog-and-social-media
http://www.slideshare.net/sounddelivery/museum-of-london-inclusion-prog-and-social-media
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Milk Crate Theatre
A brilliant example of an organisation demonstrating the art of social inclusion. Using theatre as tool to connect with homeless and marginalised person's,the Milk Crate Theatre is committed to creating original theatrical works that give a voice and a vision from those often lost and abandoned by the society they inhabit.
http://www.milkcratetheatre.com/index.html
http://www.milkcratetheatre.com/index.html
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, December 13, 2010
Inclusion programmes at the Museum of London
Lucie Fitton, Inclusion Programme Manager at the Museum of London was kind enough to show me around the museum’s London Wall site and share some of her experiences in managing inclusion programmes for participants from a range of socially disenfranchised groups.
Participants
Lucie works with a range of people including long term unemployed, offenders, youth, those affected by mental health and asylum seekers
Tangible program outputs
Often the programs that Lucie is involved with will result in an exhibition or part of an exhibition that is then displayed in the gallery space.
For example several floor display cases have been curated by participants during various programs. Each of these programs involved specialist staff such as multimedia artists, conservators, curators and archaeologists. These staff deliver technical knowledge to the participants equipping them with the necessary skills to complete the designated project.
The involvement of specialist staff increases the value and credibility of the program. I think for the participants this must also give them a self-esteem boost and sense of validation being welcomed to participate in a high quality, well resourced program which is able to broaden their skills base.
According to the Museum of London - collections on line section of their website the Brixton Riots 1981 was the most significant outbreak of civil disorder in 20th century London.
At the time Brixton’s Afro-Caribbean community comprised roughly 25% of its population. Unemployment was particularly high especially for Black men, where rates were up to 50%. The area was known for its high crime, and in April 1981 the Metropolitan Police initiated ‘Operation Swamp’. Within days, a huge police presence on the streets had led to almost 1,000 people – mostly young Black men – being stopped and searched.
On 13 April 1981, Police tried to assist a young Black man who had been stabbed in the back. Rumours ran rife that the police were trying to arrest the injured man, rather than take him to hospital. Racial tensions escalated. The next day, the arrest of another man outside a minicab office sparked an outpouring of violence. Within hours, the streets had become a battle zone. People threw petrol bombs and set alight police cars.
By the time hostilities subsided, over 360 people had been injured, 28 premises burned and another 117 damaged and looted. Over 100 vehicles, including 56 police vehicles, were damaged during the disturbances. The police arrested 82 people.
In 2008 the Museum of London delivered a Brixton Riots community project. Participants of this project delved into the lives of people who experienced the Brixton Riots of April 1981. After an intensive training week including historical research and social reporting workshops, participants accompanied by photographer Frewine Solomon met with and interviewed Brixton residents who experienced the Riots of April 1981.
The resulting interviews uncovered some of the fascinating and intimate stories surrounding this significant piece of London’s social history. The participants wrote a blog about their experiences during the project and material they gathered during the program forms part of the permanent World City: 1950s-today exhibition.
Sustainability considerations
An important consideration when planning and facilitating inclusive programs is sustaining benefits for participants. We need to avoid the “flash in the pan” type scenario whereby circumstances for the participants after the program is completed revert back to the way they were.
Broadening the participants’ skill base through the recruitment of specialist staff is one way to achieve more sustainable positive outcomes.
Another strategy Museum of London is using at the moment is the establishment of a youth panel to work on projects associated with the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Stories of the World, project. This panel will be involved in subsequent inclusion programmes, ensuring the continuance of positive outcomes for its members i.e. further skill development and continual sense of validation and support.
Developing and maintaining effective partnerships with community groups
Processes associated with establishing and maintaining partnerships with community groups have become increasingly formalised at the museum. Standard templates and forms for negotiating and communicating with community groups and set proposal procedures for groups wanting to work with the museum have been created. These allow for more effective working relationships to be established. Relationships based on clear communication of outcomes and expectations. An example of such templates includes a partner agreement document which is used to outline goals and objectives of the relevant program and what is expected from each party.
Challenge
Reaching social excluded members of the community who aren’t associated with any particular community group.
Recruiting Participants
This is done mainly through the community organisation/s involved. Given Lucie and her team’s successful track record, the Museum of London has developed a high level of credibility in terms of providing quality inclusion and community collaboration. Therefore many community organisations approach the museum to design and implement projects. Networking is a big part of finding good community organisations to partner and work with.
How does inclusion and access become part of the core business of a museum or gallery rather than just an added extra?
A restructure of Museum staff, staff training, formalisation of a community collaboration and inclusion strategy and development of a community collaboration and inclusion committee are all ways the Museum of London have made social inclusion and community collaboration part of their core business.
With the museum’s current staff structure inclusion officers, community program managers, curators and designers work together as a team during exhibition and event development so that social inclusion and community collaboration are considered at the beginning and throughout exhibition and event conceptualisation.
The formalisation of a social community collaboration and inclusion strategy provides a clear direction for inclusive programs and avoids the delivery of adhoc programs that are difficult to measure in terms of success and validity.
Training in how to work successfully with members of emerging communities for staff from all museum departments is a useful tool in ensuring program participants have a holistic positive museum experience.
Helpful hints
- Try and start with a smaller program when working with a new group of participants and then embark on a larger project later.
- You don’t have to have a welfare background to run inclusive programs. Just good working relationships with community groups and welfare professionals.
- It is important for Museum professionals to take stock of their wealth of knowledge and access to collections and use this as a unique selling point.
Program contents ideas
- photography
- development of an art work that represents or interprets a collection or significant event featured in the museum or gallery.
- training participants to be reporters and asking them to capture oral histories of members of the community.
- participants developing short films and displaying these as part of a multimedia showcase in the gallery space.
- participants developing some sort of performance piece which can be captured on film or be performed as part of a public program.
Participants
Lucie works with a range of people including long term unemployed, offenders, youth, those affected by mental health and asylum seekers
Tangible program outputs
Often the programs that Lucie is involved with will result in an exhibition or part of an exhibition that is then displayed in the gallery space.
For example several floor display cases have been curated by participants during various programs. Each of these programs involved specialist staff such as multimedia artists, conservators, curators and archaeologists. These staff deliver technical knowledge to the participants equipping them with the necessary skills to complete the designated project.
The involvement of specialist staff increases the value and credibility of the program. I think for the participants this must also give them a self-esteem boost and sense of validation being welcomed to participate in a high quality, well resourced program which is able to broaden their skills base.
According to the Museum of London - collections on line section of their website the Brixton Riots 1981 was the most significant outbreak of civil disorder in 20th century London.
At the time Brixton’s Afro-Caribbean community comprised roughly 25% of its population. Unemployment was particularly high especially for Black men, where rates were up to 50%. The area was known for its high crime, and in April 1981 the Metropolitan Police initiated ‘Operation Swamp’. Within days, a huge police presence on the streets had led to almost 1,000 people – mostly young Black men – being stopped and searched.
On 13 April 1981, Police tried to assist a young Black man who had been stabbed in the back. Rumours ran rife that the police were trying to arrest the injured man, rather than take him to hospital. Racial tensions escalated. The next day, the arrest of another man outside a minicab office sparked an outpouring of violence. Within hours, the streets had become a battle zone. People threw petrol bombs and set alight police cars.
By the time hostilities subsided, over 360 people had been injured, 28 premises burned and another 117 damaged and looted. Over 100 vehicles, including 56 police vehicles, were damaged during the disturbances. The police arrested 82 people.
In 2008 the Museum of London delivered a Brixton Riots community project. Participants of this project delved into the lives of people who experienced the Brixton Riots of April 1981. After an intensive training week including historical research and social reporting workshops, participants accompanied by photographer Frewine Solomon met with and interviewed Brixton residents who experienced the Riots of April 1981.
The resulting interviews uncovered some of the fascinating and intimate stories surrounding this significant piece of London’s social history. The participants wrote a blog about their experiences during the project and material they gathered during the program forms part of the permanent World City: 1950s-today exhibition.
Sustainability considerations
An important consideration when planning and facilitating inclusive programs is sustaining benefits for participants. We need to avoid the “flash in the pan” type scenario whereby circumstances for the participants after the program is completed revert back to the way they were.
Broadening the participants’ skill base through the recruitment of specialist staff is one way to achieve more sustainable positive outcomes.
Another strategy Museum of London is using at the moment is the establishment of a youth panel to work on projects associated with the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Stories of the World, project. This panel will be involved in subsequent inclusion programmes, ensuring the continuance of positive outcomes for its members i.e. further skill development and continual sense of validation and support.
Developing and maintaining effective partnerships with community groups
Processes associated with establishing and maintaining partnerships with community groups have become increasingly formalised at the museum. Standard templates and forms for negotiating and communicating with community groups and set proposal procedures for groups wanting to work with the museum have been created. These allow for more effective working relationships to be established. Relationships based on clear communication of outcomes and expectations. An example of such templates includes a partner agreement document which is used to outline goals and objectives of the relevant program and what is expected from each party.
Challenge
Reaching social excluded members of the community who aren’t associated with any particular community group.
Recruiting Participants
This is done mainly through the community organisation/s involved. Given Lucie and her team’s successful track record, the Museum of London has developed a high level of credibility in terms of providing quality inclusion and community collaboration. Therefore many community organisations approach the museum to design and implement projects. Networking is a big part of finding good community organisations to partner and work with.
How does inclusion and access become part of the core business of a museum or gallery rather than just an added extra?
A restructure of Museum staff, staff training, formalisation of a community collaboration and inclusion strategy and development of a community collaboration and inclusion committee are all ways the Museum of London have made social inclusion and community collaboration part of their core business.
With the museum’s current staff structure inclusion officers, community program managers, curators and designers work together as a team during exhibition and event development so that social inclusion and community collaboration are considered at the beginning and throughout exhibition and event conceptualisation.
The formalisation of a social community collaboration and inclusion strategy provides a clear direction for inclusive programs and avoids the delivery of adhoc programs that are difficult to measure in terms of success and validity.
Training in how to work successfully with members of emerging communities for staff from all museum departments is a useful tool in ensuring program participants have a holistic positive museum experience.
Helpful hints
- Try and start with a smaller program when working with a new group of participants and then embark on a larger project later.
- You don’t have to have a welfare background to run inclusive programs. Just good working relationships with community groups and welfare professionals.
- It is important for Museum professionals to take stock of their wealth of knowledge and access to collections and use this as a unique selling point.
Program contents ideas
- photography
- development of an art work that represents or interprets a collection or significant event featured in the museum or gallery.
- training participants to be reporters and asking them to capture oral histories of members of the community.
- participants developing short films and displaying these as part of a multimedia showcase in the gallery space.
- participants developing some sort of performance piece which can be captured on film or be performed as part of a public program.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sixteendays of Action to Eliminate Violence Against Women
Sixteendays of Action ran from 25 November, International Day Against Violence Against Women, to 10 December 2010, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.
Being a strong advocate for arts and human rights related projects GoMA supported this intiative and hosted three events as part of the campaign. All events were free and opened to an adult audience.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Stories of the World
A brilliant intiative in the UK that Lucie Fitton from the Museum of London mentioned to me. This project is an advocate for inclusive and accessible cultural spaces for people of all ages and from all backgrounds.
http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/setting_pace/stories%20of%20the%20world
"Stories of the World is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, and aims to showcase to a worldwide audience innovation and excellence in museums, libraries and archives. The project is led by the MLA in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
In the spirit of the London 2012 Games, Stories of the World will seek to welcome the world to Britain by using our rich collections to tell inspirational stories about the UK's relationships with the world. Young people are at the heart of the project, working in partnership with curators to uncover objects that tell stories that resonate with their interests"
http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/setting_pace/stories%20of%20the%20world
"Stories of the World is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, and aims to showcase to a worldwide audience innovation and excellence in museums, libraries and archives. The project is led by the MLA in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
In the spirit of the London 2012 Games, Stories of the World will seek to welcome the world to Britain by using our rich collections to tell inspirational stories about the UK's relationships with the world. Young people are at the heart of the project, working in partnership with curators to uncover objects that tell stories that resonate with their interests"
Working towards a United Kingdom – how UK Museums & Galleries are actively engaging emerging communities through inclusive programming
And so begins my quest to discover the keys of success in developing engaging and empowering inclusive programs based in museums and galleries. I am seeking expertise in designing and implementing, quality inclusive projects that provide participants with a strong sense of ownership and opportunities to develop valuable skills, securing sustainable benefits rather than a fleeting positive experience. What better place to start this exploration than the UK. Museums and galleries here have become world leaders in this field due to a strong focus on social inclusion by the last government.
Areas of investigation include...
- How to recruit program participants
- Developing and maintaining effective partnerships with community groups
- Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with specialist staff e.g. artists, curators, mental health professionals etc.
- Measures that can be taken to encourage social inclusion and access to become part of the core business of museums and galleries rather than an added extra or after thought.
- Strategies to ensure that programs produce sustainable benefits for participants.
- Program content ideas e.g. different art mediums, themes & objects that can be used as catalysts for self expression and storytelling. Different ways finished works can be exhibited.
- Skills and expertise necessary to provide quality inclusive programs. Do you need to have a welfare background? How to you navigate through the grey area between the welfare and cultural sector?
- Time duration of effective inclusive programs. Are short programs (1-2 weeks in length) worthwhile or should all programs run for at least a few months?
- Planning time involved in quality inclusive programs.
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