We were:
- at a talk
- on the Tate website
- in a meeting
- writing a funding bid
- being interviewed
- having a coffee with a curator
- on Twitter
- writing an opinion piece for a-n
- redoing our artist statements
and we realised all the words had gone.
We need to find new languages. Some words are still precious and we sincerely hope they aren’t really gone. What can we do to stop it being only a matter of time until we can’t use them anymore? Join us trying to work a bit harder at it – or just give yourself another thing to feel guilty about.
You’ll never expect what happened next!
We wrote down 500 words artists shouldn’t use this week:
- participatory
- created by, for and with
- on the ground
- transformative
- transform
- life changing
- strategic
- diverse
- consultation
- participate
- public discourse
- erosion
- social practice
- social media
- social
- radical
- impact
- local audience
- cultural engagement
- cultural production
- low levels of cultural engagement
- explore the notion
- digital practice
- legacy
- development
- after Trump
- relationship between politics and art
- wide-ranging
- known for
- retrospective
You’ll never look at words the same after you’ve read these:
- emancipatory
- infrastructure
- evaluation
- process based
- non artists
- community
- low income
- NEETs
- employability
- immersive
- interactive
- together
- non linear
- long term
- open dialogues
- the exhibition invites you
- activism
- curatorial vision
- social barriers
- social and/or political change
- pragmatic
- remove barriers
- artistic activity
- dialogue
- outreach
- influence
- engagement programme
- education programme
- help educate
- improve health and wellbeing
- improve local pride
- social cohesion
- simply share
- community setting
- integrating into a community
- public context
- issues
- urgent issues
- how to
- hard
- soft
- civic
- pedagogy
- pedagogies
- significant
- position
- pleased to
- subculture
- raise awareness
- self sustaining
- community led
- cooperative group
- theory of change
- time based
- cultural capital
- cultural currency
- unpack
- theory and practice
- the Art World
- the art work
- the arts
- DIY
- DIWO
- it’s free
- cultural democracy
- celebrating
Have you said any of these offensive words? Take our quiz!
- framing
- frameworks
- embedded
- first institutional show
- supporting
- positive representation
- residency
- commission
- exhibition environment
- improve the lives
- Jeremy Deller
- opportunity
- ground breaking
- innovative
- outcomes
- public moments
- narratives
- crisis
- alternative
- Blockchain
- empowering
- empowered
- instrumentalise
- creative placemaking
- contextualise
- enabling
- dinner and a show
- widening participation
- entry to the arts
- socio-material
- routes to the cultural industry
- baby boomers
- millennials
- diversify
- collaborative
500 words you’ve never heard of but they could save your career:
- volunteer run
- partnerships
- stakeholders
- social strategy
- intimate
- depth
- deep
- deprived
- timely
- dissensus
- the ethics of
- creative industries
- affordable
- complicate the idea
- co-comissioned
- socially engaged
- peer network
- event
- network
- workshop
- away notice
- upcoming
- recent
- past projects
- current projects
Retweet if you think this list of words is awful. Like if you disagree.
- playful
- informal
- care
- self care
- challenges
- self selecting
- minorities
- accompanied
- transdisciplinary
- overlooked
- methodologies
- London
- London creative class
- issues such as race and gender
- the regions
- for people of all ages and backgrounds
- urban
- improvising
- in conversation with
- local expertise
- a vocabulary
People have stopped using these words. It’s easy to see why.
More on a-n.co.uk:
Claudia Rankine’s The White Card: life-affirming response to ‘Black Death Spectacle’
Art and architecture: the Smithsons – their legacy and ideas explored
Learning from Venice Biennale 2017: travel bursary bloggers report from Venice
