CULTURAL DEMOCRACY - YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
Symposium at the Martin Harris Centre, University of Manchester, 4th
and 5th April 2018
We invite artists and academics to join us for a day of exploration
and discussion about the relationship between culture and DEMOCRACY.
We are interested in uncovering the roots of CULTURAL DEMOCRACY AND
EVALUATING CURRENT THINKING IN ORDER TO SPECULATE ON FUTURE
DIRECTIONS. This free event will include panels and open discussion,
viewing of film based on unique archive footage and sharing ideas
generated by practice. The evening will include a wine reception and
the official launch of _Culture, Democracy and the Right to Make Art:
the British Community Arts Movement_ which is edited by Alison Jeffers
and Gerri Moriarty.
The event is free but places are limited and all delegates _must_
register as soon as possible through Eventbrite. If you book a place
but can no longer use it please let us know.
BACKGROUND TO THE EVENT
Ideas around cultural democracy were first posited in the UK the 1970s
and early 1980s when artists involved in the British Community Arts
Movement articulated and developed their ideas as they emerged from
community arts practice. At this time too, other nations began to
articulate policies based on ideas about the intrinsic relationship
between creating culture and creating democracy: in 1976 the Council
of Europe ran an international event called Towards Cultural
Democracy. Although cultural democracy emerged alongside new radical
and alternative modes of live performance, challenges to gallery
culture and the growing recognition of the value of popular art forms,
its aims were more ambitious. Artists developing their practices aimed
to put questions of ownership and authorship at the heart of the work,
opening up the artistic and creative ‘means of production’ to
communities that they felt had been deprived of them to that point.
Despite the fact that the Community Arts Movement in Britain was
eroded by the mid-1980s these ideas and ways of working have continued
into the 1990s and beyond.
Recently CULTURAL DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK INTO FOCUS BY A
NUMBER OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH PROJECTS, by initiatives emerging from the
arts and by the renewed interest of political and charitable bodies.
Briefly, and in no particular order, these could be represented by:
the AHRC funded research project ‘Understanding Everyday
Participation’ which began in 2012; the 2015 report by the Warwick
Commission on the Future of CULTURAL VALUE CALLED _Enriching Britain:
Culture, Creativity and Growth_; publication of the 2016 AHRC CULTURAL
VALUE PROJECT REPORT _Understanding the Value of Arts and Culture_;
evaluation of the Get Creative Research in the 2017 report_ Towards
Cultural Democracy _and the recent_ Manifesto for a Cultural Democracy
_published in_ Red Pepper _in January 2018.
The event is designed to facilitate discussions that will make sense
of recent practices and initiatives while not forgetting valuable
lessons that may be learned from recent history. It is designed to
appeal to both academics and to artists and creative practitioners who
are interested in the relationships between culture and democracy.
PROGRAMME
4th April
6.00-8.00 Action Space – experimental
documentary film by Huw Whal based on the early work of arts company
Action Space. Action Space used large inflatable sculptures to
create interventions into public spaces. By bringing together artists,
performers, dancers, painters and musicians, the movement sought to
produce CULTURAL DEMOCRATIC SPACES FOR ART, education and creative
play outside of the restrictive space of the gallery system. This film
looks at those years between 1968 and 1978, exploring contemporary and
pertinent issues around public/private space, individual/collective
creativity, community and responsibility, emancipation and
play. Followed by Q&A with Huw Whal.
5th April
10.30-11.00 Arrivals and registration
11.00-1.00 Panel 1: What can we learn from the
histories of cultural democracy? Speakers – Owen Kelly (Arcada,
Finland), Stephen Hadley (Queens University Belfast), Cathy Mackerras
(community artist and co-founder of Telford Community Arts), Sophie
Hope (Birkbeck University).
Chair: Jenny Hughes (University of Manchester).
1.00-2.00 Lunch and networking opportunity
2.00 -4.00 Panel 2: What is the current state of
cultural democracy and what are the possibilities for the future?
Andrew Miles (University of Manchester), Cilla Baynes (Community
Arts Northwest), Steve Vickers (The Agency, Contact), Nick Wilson
(Kings College).
Chair: Abigail Gilmore, (University of Manchester).
4.00-4.30 Tea Break
4.30- 5.30 Showing of film made for the event
and plenary discussion.
5.30-7.00 Book launch and refreshments.
Invited inputs from Arlene Goldbard (community artist, United States),
Nick Mahony (Manifesto for a Cultural Democracy) and other special
guests to be confirmed.
Details of the location can be found here -
https://www.martinharriscentre.manchester.ac.uk/
[https://www.martinharriscentre.manchester.ac.uk/]
Anyone requiring accommodation is advised to book early.
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06/04/2018 Last update