CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BRADFORD BRIGHTON MANCHESTER CARDIFF LONDON
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THE CHALLENGE
The Creative Margins Scrapbook is a collection of reflections from participants of the CREATIVE MARGINS NETWORK which aimed to respond to the Culture White Paper’s (CM 9218) expectation that all museums, theatres, galleries, opera houses or arts groups that receive government money “should reach out to everyone, regardless of their background”. The challenge is to develop new models for effective partnerships in specific local communities that move beyond performative acts of accountability and genuinely reach groups who would not usually gain access to arts and art institutions.
THE OUTCOME
The network facilitated a series five one-day regional meetings in 2018 across England and Wales (Bradford, Brighton, Cardiff, London, and Manchester), and the reflections from those meetings are included in this scrapbook,. This scrapbook was produced to share knowledge across the fields and disciplines of Art and youth/community work by opening spaces for discussion and critical debate.
THE ARTISTS
Thank you to the amazing artists who contributed to this scrapbook: Olivia Hardman, Samiya Nazeer, Jody Woodhouse and Molly van der Weij.
www.creativemargins.net
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,CLASS-
June 26th 2018. in Bradford. Common Wealth Theatre. hosted by artistic lead Evie Manning. The day involved: • Theatre piece 'The Elephant in the Room·. • Introductions and discussion led by Hassan Mahamdallie. • Panel Discussion led by Dr Nicola Sim and Javaad Alipoor. playwright and theatre director 'What more we need to think about in relation to Class and Arts Participation· • Open space discussion ... thinking through class and access to art institution and practices. The morning started with a provocative performance by Common Wealth called 'Class. the Elephant in the Room'. And indeed as we strolled into the theatre space there was an Elephant. standing upright and singing of all the songs - Oasis's 'Don't Look Back in Anger.' The disguise worked as a metaphor for the extraordinary efforts working class actors have to exert to get roles in theatre in contemporary times. Working class actor's accents. presentation of self and even sometimes their looks are features that middle class casting teams assume are legitimate to comment on - usually negatively - or to typecast. The actors emphasised that acting has become
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and hierarchically anchored according to which institutions actors have attended. and how many and what kinds of qualifications they have amassed. As the day went on. we discussed just how this
works to PR I 'JI LEGE middle class actors who use institutions to strengthen their networks in exclusionary ways. and how many arts institutions are dominated and run by middle class people who have become gatekeepers for others. Most importantly. the actors discussed how the narrow stereotypes of working identity are imagined and how these mediate interviews and casting sessions.
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At the core of this narrow imaginary of a working class person is a WHllE, MAlE,lOW
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working on a housing estate. This stereotype is very powerful almost hegemonic & ��
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with the complexities of working class identities. criss crossed by gender. ethnicity and sexual orientation.
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Creative Margins
Brighton Youth Centre Street Work Meets Festivals
‘They want to tell their story the way they want to tell it. Not the way others want to hear it.’
‘I saw artists and not addicts…’
12.10.2018
Star ting the meeting with a piece of theatre: a play wrestling with critical debates similar to those within youth work and youth par ticipation literature; . who decides the script and recognised form or style of par ticipation, . who has already set the agenda and used young people to endorse something which has already been decided and . who is invited or excluded and how are they represented. The youth worker, facilitator, director or ar tist plays a role in working alongside young people or par ticipants when suppor ting pieces of self-development or creative outputs and to what ex tent they act as a conductor or an accompanist will depend on their training, motivations and ethical standpoint. In this sense, many of the debates during the event were about shared values, tensions between those of differing backgrounds and ways that youth and cultural sectors can work together in more innovative ways in the future. 7
Creative Margins
The Politics of Space Key points
HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE Youth work practices that have been developed across time through a long engagement with young people is relatively invisible knowledge. This knowledge is the praxis of how to reach and create relationships with vulnerable groups, and is often unrecognised by professionals in other institutions. It is hidden knowledge that is in danger of disappearing. S PAC E ... is unique, it provides shelter, privacy, places for young people to be where they are not regulated all the time, and where trust and autonomy are recognised as essential qualities. The politics of space … frames young people as competent, autonomous and responsible people. Spaces are essential in enabling the kinds of long-term, enduring realtionships to be created … relations that sustain people and enable them to make changes in their own lifes - on their own terms. Youth workers are crucial in this process. On the politics of time and SPACE by young people themselves: ‘you let me take my own time’ ‘you didn’t box me…’ The street too is no longer in any way a free space.
WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE MODEL TO ENABLE YO 8
Creative Margins
The Politics of Space Key points
Physical space in clubs has become to a greater extent a space of austerity and surveillance; older centres were often vibrant spaces and, since now artists need studio spaces, the alliance between arts and youth work could be renewed on this basis. TIME AND TRUST ... ‘time’ and ‘trust’ are unglamorous subjects that deal with the day-to-day, but are not widely understood or communicated enough ... ... have to look at ways to better communicate the knowledge and understanding we’ve got ... ... young speakers confirmed the importance of time; being able to take your own time to build up trust, be ready to engage and do stuff; and of recognition of who you actually are and your actual interests, as against stereotypes and labels. In powerful arts spaces, there is always a strong tendency to assimilate whoever arrives there into that space, or else, failing that, to position them as a permanent outsider with all the romantic exoticism that involves: ‘outsider art.’ Hence the importance of enabling other kinds of spaces to have power.
UNG PEOPLE TO BE PART OF CULTUR AL LIFE
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Creative Margins
Brighton Youth Centre ABOUT PARTICIPATION: Who are these young people? Why are they here? Why are they here? Where are these/ those other young vulnerable people?’ Why are they not here?
discussion
An important focus of the process of making art is “sitting in the chaos … ”you never know what’s going to emerge.” “Making the invisible stories visible … the arts have so much power to have conversations that are difficult or uncomfortable.”
Youth work can be seen as a somewhat limited set of practices concerned with ensuring that work is based upon long-term relationships that is not about reaching a threshold or taking big chances which may jeopordise delicate relations of trust.
In contrast, the artworld can sometimes be marked by short-term interventions, concerns for artistry or quality, or the importance of taking chances for the sake of art (or fame?) above all else.
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Creative Margins
Brighton Youth Centre
discussion
Youth workers and the young people they work with still see themselves as ‘creators not consumers’. They are also nurturers and those in need of nurture. Young creatives spoke about their mental health, the need for down time, the need to have spaces just to be, as well as to create. Youth workers spoke about the time needed for relationship and the principle of voluntary relationship and the freedom to walk away.
Photo Credit: Anya Arnold
Yet there are also points of agreement; the need for improvisation, the holding of uncertainty, boundary work, the need for relationships based on care and trust. Young people spoke eloquently about the impact of open and longstanding relationships with youth work projects and arts projects that had and were continuing to have effects on their lives.
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Phrase from Donna haraways’s lateste book ‘Staying with the Trouble’ to help us to not steer away from difficult issues.
Making art is like learning to put words together. The process (not the product) is most important.
42nd Street
- Providing interventions that
promotesresilience and recovery. - Ensuring that the voice of young person informs and influences service developement; - Enabling young people to take part in opportunities for personal developement and growth; - Improving awareness of the mental health needs of young people and challenge the stigma associated with mental health.
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MANCHESTER
You have to give young people tools.
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‘A seat at the table’ by Ella Otomewo
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We did not hear from the one boy in the group.
Who were the boys and what were their views and experiences? I felt that the academics made some assumptions rather than being led by the young people.
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ed with small k or w e w t, gh ri s at' Yes th mers.'m a h th wi s er d d la p children u rson Professor Mi e Pe
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We do.not think that cultural participation should stop ai-25, and neither should a desire to engage with museum projects. Curreratly-there is not an avenue for this conveyer belt ¾Oung people-becoming not-young people to p gress or develop within the museum.
One could also imagi_ne a scenario where it is not seen as '. orth' investing time and skills into young peOAl· S ' because they are unlikely to use those skirts·to improve he museum in tbe future.
We would love to see these people form a larger skill n twork that can still engage with projects, where they are relevant to the individual, and continue to share their thoughts and--skills even when they are no longer a 'young Rerson'. This could allow the museum to retaifl some of the skilled people that they have been shaping and could allow tl�e individual to feel more trusting of the museum sHe.
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' ¡ We suggest that in order to maintain a sense of progression and achievement, thus keeping momentum and keeping young people engaged in a positive manner, that the project should be split into many smaller, diverse tasks.
These activities can range from a workshop spanning an hour, to projects that span several sessions. We think that the key here is having a clear idea of the end aims of the project, and then splitting up the actionable tasks and matching activities to suitable age ranges, groups or ability levels.
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What can institutions do to build up tru;�t· . . ·. between. themselves and young peopl�'? Young people may not trust the museum because they may feel that they�are �eiag used for tokenism or, box ticking, rather than being valued as an individual:-
Gou Id take a more sympathetic stance towards young people and place a higher value on the time given by the young person. 1 ,
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e.g present-a particular image of youth engagemer:1t at the sites. This can present an image of t�e nationalities, i skills or level of engagement · 1 that is preseht within the group ,, of young people.which may �'' not accurately reflect:the/ , � whole. t.A/2 ,,
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� : /Y/5f It can be a fine line betw!n engagement and tokenism, 1/ I and recognising where this line is drawn is a valuable skill of the engagement staff.
Some internal projects may have an aim for feedback from young people, and this can lead to closed-ended activities or sessions with volunteers, where the young people are 'involved' in a project but are not allowed to influence the project outcome or direction in any meaningful way.
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They can open more doors to opportunities for young people to engage with the museum structure.
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Have a more open approach to young people getting involved with more 'professional' projects with a longer time scale.
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The museum could also build trust with young people by acknowledging their interests and concerns in a respectful manner, rather th�:m brushing them aside or refusing to engage with the goals of young people.
Investment from the counc.il Cari go so m· u-ch further when they - invest in arts organisati'ons. When __ you give. an arts organisation a -litt-1-e--bit--of money, they can. .use it to' lever more funds. For example, g-wi-th schoo�-s -a-Ad through w-orkin, co.mm . r unity organisations that can --·put : n·some extra money, the- impacts can be incredible and far reaching. -It ,creates ·crcrss=-i_ ___ f�r�J J J·.��tJ9n__ � th� c9mmunity, ____ and it is preventive against other costly social problems.
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make �rien�ship with · -xo�n�_ pea,_ le, not us·1ng the for a pr oJe,�\.: , .. --�.. ... . . :· ·;: I
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'Pupil�· �ittut destinati . s r - has a '. negative , motional impact. 't©u feel ejected a the age of 16.
Trust was built up between the young people and the facilitator from years of spending time with the group before a specific project was undertaken.
Care - which things people told you that you could and couldn't
share was very important, which is why artefacts were often used, rather than personal accounts. The notion of the 'dartefact' was an important tool in allowing things to be shared in a far more powerful way than through a survey.
Consent was also key, along with understanding the importance of certain people's presence in the project.
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Creative Margins
Young Poet, Kareem Parkins-Brown’s advice to arts organisations wanting to work with young people.
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Creative Margins
Tate Gallery, London Clash of Cultures – collaboration to true partnership
check: your privilege your difference your motivations your relevance your workforce
... feelings of unusual presence, unease and difference often occur when the arts world comes together with the youth sector ... There was something amazingly powerful about the way Kareem took up the space with his voice, accent and presence in front of pictures that he wove into his performance. When he finished a boy spontaneously shouted out ‘Thanks you’ve made be feel I can belong here in a way I’ve never felt before.’ 39
Creative Margins
Tate Gallery, London Provocations
Key findings from exploring different models of ‘partnership’ between youth and arts organisations included: A lack of understanding of youth work practice, A lack of knowledge about what happens in the gallery space, Little acknowledgement of the wide and valuable background of young people.
Where does your personal politics stop and start in your work? Arts and youth workers need to review their professional motivations for equality and social justice.
Questioning the notion of co-production and what constitutes a ‘true’ partnership ...
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Creative Margins
Tate Gallery, London Provocations What are practical solutions to youth/arts partnerships? Describe the benefits of engaging artists in partnership-work that focuses on: . process rather than product . ideas rather than medium . quality of experience rather than assessing impact ...
Youth work and the arts can be natural allies if the youth sector were able to better understand the gallery space and the arts sector could better engage with youth work practice.
Differing languages, experiences, traditions of practice and ways of being are hidden and often unacknowledged manifestations of power. Develop a culture of collaboration, including . research and practice networks, . CPD / training of arts and youth workers within higher education settings and cross sector roles.
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Creative Margins
Tate Gallery, London
Panel
Clash of Cultures, or ... the effects of “living within” organisations, as things that lie within other things, economies that sit within capitalism. exploring models based around redistributing the wealth among the population and sharing resources, rather than expecting more from government funding.
... a manifesto which could explore the shared agendas of youth work and the arts but also highlight local issues most important to young people ...
“We know that young people can feel disconnected and struggle to find their place in an adult world that is changing constantly. It is up to us to provide young people with space: space to be safe, space to be themselves, space to own and lead.”
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“For years, I’ve wanted my community to become a better place, yet I hardly even know my neighbours. I definitely don’t know them in the way my grandma knew hers!”
Creative Margins
Tate Gallery, London
Group discussion
There exists a ‘hiddeness about peoples lives’ and many missed opportunities for harnessing the skills of workers in alternative spaces. Different agendas that funding brings and the importance of experimenting without funding: often the best artistic work is created without funding, without focus and without an end product. Importance of ‘lived’ experience in relation to: . employing artists from the local area, . acknowledgement of young people’s cultural funds of knowledge, the lived experiences they bring with them.
...there has been little talking back from youth workers about their experience of ‘co-produced’ projects. This absence has often been explained as a reluctance and unavailability on the part of youth workers but it may speak of a deeper tension that has something to do with a fear of being put down and excluded.
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