Articoli taggati con ‘participation’
Arts Equity
Diversity in the arts has been a topic of much discussion for many years and the discussion continues to become more profound, more nuanced, and more important. As Nina Simone stated, “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” The population of the United States, and many countries, has never been more diverse in terms of ethnicity which is typically the type of diversity that is implied in these discussions, although there are many types of diversity worthy of attention and action. In contrast, the history of western art has been dominated by rich white men for centuries, and this is seen in the canon: faces in galleries of European paintings through the Twentieth century are plump and white with rosy cheeks? classic plays, operas and ballets are based on stories of welltodo and royalty, presumably white. It’s no surprise, then, when recent studies show that today’s arts audiences are not diversifying at the same rate as the general public. This is a serious problem for arts organizations. The classic canon, portraying wealthy white people, is becoming less and less relevant to an increasing percentage of the population. When programming isn’t relevant, audiences shrink. When audiences shrink, not only does revenue decrease and threaten sustainability, but many organizations’ missions, which are centered on interaction with community and audience, are also threatened. The issue is compounded by the fact that the leadership of arts organizationstypically, staff and board members is not representatively diverse in terms of ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status. Community voices are, therefore, less likely to be accurately represented in strategic planning and governance decisions that determine programming. In this scenario, the programming does not adapt with changing needs of the organization’s constituency and loses relevance.
Participation and cultural industries: drawing a way through collective and collaborative creation
Much has been said about co-creation and participation in cultural projects, but it seems that cultural industry is facing challenges trying to balance social impact and profitability. Participation offers powerful tools to foment development and to weaken individualism in the contemporary society, but many of the so-called participatory cultural projects limit themselves to a certain type of functionality – very similar to marketing campaigns of big corporations – and end up struggling when it comes to develop a community sense or to promote innovation.
