The recent nomination of the architecture collective Assemble for this year’s Turner Prize has roused a flurry of thought around community focused arts practice – how we define it and why it has become an intrinsic part of many institutions arts offer. Two events as part of a weekend of programmes in Liverpool looked to answer these questions, whilst analysing the impact that community practice can have both on local communities and – from a more philosophical perspective – the way we see the world around us.
Established by Matteo Lucchetti and Judith Wielander in 2011, the Visible Award is a 25,000 Euro prize for ‘socially engaged practices in a global context’. Presented in collaboration with Tate Liverpool, the selection of the winner took place in Liverpool Town Hall’s opulent Council Chambers on 31 October, and whilst this was the third time the award has been made, it was the first time it was to be decided by an open jury, formed by the audience who took on the role of a Temporary Parliament.
The event was a reminder of how ethics and social engagement should be a necessity for institutions and not a luxury, an issue the jury (audience) took heed of as it battled with the new found responsibility of choosing one organisation to award the money to. One jury member declared: “Should we be awarding a prize to an organisation because it needs it the most or because we like what they do? Or should we be looking at who can make the biggest difference with an award of 25,000 Euro.”
The debate made clear that there are no guidelines to assessing the merits of artistic projects such as the nine nominees, all of whose work is making such a huge difference to the communities they work with. As numerous people in the jury suggested, the ‘right decision’ would be to split the prize money between all of them and make each one a winner. Each of the projects needed a financial boost after all, like all community arts projects do.
However, after much heated debate – including a change in the format as to how the vote would take place – the award was given to Salt by The Karrabing Film Collective whose films document the lives of the rural Indigenous community in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Building trust
Inspired by the Visible Award’s presence in the city, Liverpool Biennial – an organisation with several community focused projects in its portfolio, including Homebaked in Anfield, Sir Peter Blake’s Razzle Dazzle Ferry and most recently the glow-in-the-dark Evertro skatepark – was spurred to organise a conference that it hoped would act as a catalyst in furthering the conversation around community arts practice and bring the work of young practitioners to the fore.
Community Arts? Learning from the Legacy of Artists’ Social Initiatives took place the following day at The Black-E, a space that opened in 1967 with the aim of combining a contemporary arts centre with a community centre and is itself a reminder that community focused arts is not a new phenomenon – artists and arts organisations have been working in this way for years.
Gathering together a number of researchers, curators and practitioners from across the globe, the day was information heavy as each expert gave a ten-minute presentation explaining their stance on a particular topic.
As the audience was given an opportunity to speak, it became obvious that the issue of funding was high on their agenda, in particular why institutions and organisations like Liverpool Biennial are granted the funds and given the autonomy to decide what is best for the communities they work with. Several panel members suggested that our current funding structure is hierarchical, and called for a new funding infrastructure that recognises the importance and historical significance of community arts.
On the issue of autonomy, Jeanne van Heeswijk of Homebaked asked: “How do you work in collaboration respectfully? How do you know when the right moment is to step in or out of a project, or when a project might just need some extra love?
She concluded that “there is no manuscript for this kind of work, you just have to build trust over time.”
Building on history
Several speakers offered up rallying cries, saying that we need to get up and do rather than sitting around and moaning about it. But as one panellist pointed out, it is imperative to talk about the complexities faced by those operating with community arts practice, ‘thrashing out’ the issues in order to move things forward.
Andrea Philips, PARSE Professor of Art and Head of Research at the Valand Academy, University of Gothenburg – who chaired numerous panels throughout the weekend – summed up the problem of community arts funding by saying: “We moan because we are put in a position in which we can often do little else; this is why collaboration and combined forces are so important.
“We need to propose a new funding infrastructure so that it recognises the importance and historical significance of community arts.”
With the media attention currently focused on Assemble, this might be the time to accelerate the changes many feel are needed in terms of who has the autonomy to produce community art and to decide what is the most deserving cause. These are issues which weigh heavily on the shoulders of all of those working within the field – it’s not an issue which will be solved quickly, but only by ‘thrashing out’ the issues of the past to move forward in a new and dynamic direction which creates equality and autonomy for all working and participating within community arts.
The 2015 Visible Award: Temporary Parliament took place at Liverpool Town Hall Council Chamber, 31 October 2015, www.visibleproject.org
Community Arts? Learning from the Legacy of Artists’ Social Initiatives took place at The Black-E, 1 November 2015, www.biennial.com
More on a-n.co.uk
Theaster Gates in Bristol: “A collaboration with a city” – Rowan Lear reports from the opening weekend.
Glow in the dark art: new skatepark sheds light on Everton – Laura Robertson takes a look at this luminous living sculpture.
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