Volume 7 (2020): Issue 2 (October 2020)
Failures in Cultural Participation

THIS EDITORIAL INTRODUCES A SPECIAL EDITION OF CONJUNCTIONS THAT EXPLORES HOW CULTURAL PARTICIPATION POLICIES, PROJECTS, AND PRACTICES COULD BE IMPROVED THROUGH RECOGNISING THE PERVASIVENESS OF PAST FAILURES. IT INTRODUCES CURRENT POLICY DEBATES ON CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND POSITS THAT THE DOMINANT FOCUS ON ‘CULTURAL DEFICITS’ AND ‘NON-PARTICIPANTS’ RATHER THAN ON HOW ACTIVITIES ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED HAS RESULTED IN A FAILURE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER AND DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN STATE SUBSIDISED CULTURAL ACTIVITIES. IT FURTHER SUGGESTS THAT A CULTURE OF EVALUATING SUCCESS, RATHER THAN CRITICALLY REFLECTING ON FAILURE, RESULTS IN CULTURAL PARTICIPATION POLICIES AND PROJECTS THAT REPLICATE PAST FAILURES AND MAINTAIN AN INEQUITABLE STATUS QUO.

THIS SPECIAL EDITION ATTEMPTS TO CHALLENGE EXISTING NARRATIVES OF UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS BY OFFERING ALTERNATIVE NARRATIVES THAT CONSIDER FAILURE FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CULTURAL PARTICIPATION POLICIES AND PROJECTS. IN DOING SO IT HIGHLIGHTS THE EXTENT TO WHICH SUCCESS AND FAILURE COEXIST AND THE RICHNESS OF INSIGHT THAT COMES FROM CONSIDERING BOTH. THIS MATTERS BECAUSE IT IS ONLY SUCH OPEN AND HONEST CRITICAL REFLECTION THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FACILITATE THE SOCIAL LEARNING NEEDED FOR THOSE WHO CAN EXERT THE MOST POWER IN THE CULTURAL SECTOR TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXTENT OF THE STRUCTURAL CHANGE REQUIRED FOR CULTURAL PARTICIPATION TO BE SUPPORTED MORE EQUITABLY.

RECENT ATTEMPTS BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ENGAGE IN PARTICIPATORY POLICY-MAKING HINT AT A WILLINGNESS FOR A MORE DEMOCRATICALLY INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO POLICY. HOWEVER, THERE IS OFTEN A GAP BETWEEN THE RHETORIC OF CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT AND THE ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE POLICY-MAKING INITIATIVES. THERE IS CONCERN THAT, IN CERTAIN INSTANCES, THE TERMS ‘CO-PRODUCTION’ AND ‘PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY’ HAVE BEEN ADOPTED WHILST THE PARTICIPATORY NATURE OF POLICY-MAKING PROCEDURES HAS, IN REALITY, REMAINED VERY LIMITED. THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THESE BROADER DISCUSSIONS AND DEBATES AROUND THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF ‘CO-PRODUCED’ POLICY PRACTICES. THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS CALGARY’S RECENT ‘CO-PRODUCED’ CULTURAL PLAN AS A POTENTIAL EXAMPLE OF PARTICIPATORY POLICY-MAKING. USING A FRAMEWORK BASED ON KEY CONCEPTS WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC THEORY, INCLUDING WORKS BY ARNSTEIN (1969), RAWLS (1971) AND PATEMAN (1970, 2012), WE CONSIDER HOW THE STRATEGY ADOPTS PARTICIPATORY POLICY-MAKING PROCESSES, AND QUESTION HOW THE PLAN’S DEVELOPMENT PROCESS HAS SUCCEEDED AND FAILED IN CREATING MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION.

THE MOST COMMON CONCEPT OF SUCCESS IN CULTURAL PROGRAMMES IS COLOURED BY DIEHARD RATIONAL ECONOMIC NARRATIVES. PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES, HOWEVER, HAPPEN WITHIN A SET OF INSTITUTIONS THAT GUIDE THE ACTIONS OF AGENTS WITH SOMETIMES CONFLICTING INTERESTS. IN SOME CASES, THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME COULD BE DEFINING THESE RULES AND ALLOWING ACCESS TO NEW AGENTS. THIS IS THE CASE IN CULTURAL PARTICIPATION PROJECTS THAT ADDRESS COMPLEX SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DILEMMAS. IN THIS PAPER, WE REFLECT ON OUR EXPERIENCES AS BOTH DESIGNERS AND EVALUATORS OF PANAMA’S 500-YEAR FUND, AN INITIATIVE TO COMMEMORATE THE FOUNDATION OF PANAMA CITY IN 1519. WE EXPLORE HOW THE EXISTING INSTITUTIONS AND AGENTS IN PANAMA CITY’S CULTURAL SECTOR CAME INTO CONTACT WITH PROFESSIONALS DEALING WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES, AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPANTS. WE ARGUE THAT THERE WAS A SYMBOLIC IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS FUND. THIS FACILITATED A RESOURCE-INTENSIVE PROCESS TO REDUCE AMBIGUITY ABOUT GOALS AND WAYS OF WORKING.

THIS ARTICLE ENGAGES WITH QUESTIONS OF FAILURE IN CULTURAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH A REFLECTION UPON MATTERS OF INTERPRETATION AND MEANING. THAT IS, RATHER THAN CONSIDERING THE WAYS OR EXTENT TO WHICH CULTURAL PARTICIPATION PROGRAMMES MIGHT ACHIEVE THEIR STATED GOALS, THE DISCUSSION CENTRES UPON THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF REPRESENTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS IN RELATION TO QUESTIONS OF ‘FAILURE’/‘SUCCESS’. THE DISCUSSION CENTRES UPON ONE CASE STUDY INITIATIVE, ENGLAND'S VERSION OF THE VENEZUELAN EL SISTEMA PROGRAMME, IN HARMONY, AND EMPLOYS FRAME ANALYSIS TO EXPLORE THE WAYS PRESS COVERAGE AND RELEVANT POLICY DOCUMENTS CULTIVATE AN IMAGE OF PROGRAMME ‘SUCCESS’. IN ORDER TO HELP REVEAL SOME OF THE PROBLEMATIC ASSUMPTIONS EMBEDDED IN DOMINANT ACCOUNTS, THE ARTICLE ALSO DRAWS ON ORIGINAL INTERVIEW DATA IN EXPLORING THE MARGINALISED PERSPECTIVES OF PROGRAMME PARTICIPANTS. THE FINDINGS WHICH EMERGE SUGGEST THE NEED FOR PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE SYMBOLIC DIMENSIONS OF CULTURAL PARTICIPATION POLICIES IN RELATION TO QUESTIONS OF ‘FAILURE’/‘SUCCESS’.

FUNDING STREAMS DESIGNED TO ENABLE WIDER PARTICIPATION WITH CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ART OFTEN FAIL TO MEET THEIR OBJECTIVES. FACED WITH THE NEED TO SHOW INCREASED ENGAGEMENT IN RETURN FOR PUBLIC FUNDING, FEAR OF FAILURE HAS LED MANY ORGANISATIONS TO TURN TO WHAT WE DESCRIBE AS THE ‘ART-SPECTACLE’: PUBLIC ARTWORKS DEVELOPED AS A MEANS OF DEMONSTRATING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE ENGAGEMENT WHEN LARGE CROWDS ENCOUNTER AN ART-SPECTACLE? WHEN ART-SPECTACLES APPROPRIATE AN EXISTING CULTURAL FORM AND REBRAND IT AS ‘ART’, BY WHAT CRITERIA CAN IT BE JUDGED A SUCCESS OR FAILURE? OUR DISCUSSION CENTRES ON THE HISTORY TRAIN, AN EVENT THAT FORMED PART OF BRITISH ART SHOW 8 IN NORWICH IN 2016. AS IT RECEIVED FUNDING TO ENGAGE NEW AUDIENCES, WE ASSESS THE HISTORY TRAIN AGAINST THE CRITERIA BY WHICH THE FUNDING WAS AWARDED. WE ALSO LOOK AT THE DEGREE TO WHICH IT MET DEBORD’S (1983) LOGIC OF SPECTACLE AND THE NECESSITY OF VISIBILITY OVER EXPERIENCE.

THE PARTICIPATORY, PUBLIC ART PROJECT ISTEDGADE GREEN SPOTS AND SUSTAINABLE DETOURS WANTED TO ENGAGE SEVERAL HUNDRED LOCAL RESIDENTS TO TAKE PART IN CO-DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING AND SUSTAINING MULTIPLE GREEN OASES IN AND AROUND THE STREET ISTEDGADE IN CENTRAL COPENHAGEN. THIS ARTICLE CONSTITUTES A QUALITATIVE, REFLEXIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESSES OF DEVELOPING THE ARTWORK WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE REASONS WHY IT FAILED TO DEVELOP THE AMBITIOUS PROJECT IT ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED. THE ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE PROJECT THROUGH THE LENS OF THE NEW NORMS FOR ARTISTIC PRACTICE THAT HAVE EVOLVED WITHIN SOCIAL PRACTICE ART, A FIELD OF ART WITH A PARTICULAR SENSITIVITY TOWARDS ISSUES OF INVISIBILITIES, INEQUALITIES AND INJUSTICES AND A STRONG ACTIVIST DIMENSION. WHILE HIGHLIGHTING TWO KEY CHALLENGES AFFECTING THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT, THE ARTICLE ALSO RAISES THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE SHORT-TERM EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE MEASURE FOR THIS TYPE OF INTERVENTION INTO URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS A CASE STUDY OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT IN A SMALL VICTORIAN PUBLIC PARK IN MANCHESTER. THE PROJECT WAS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MANCHESTER JEWISH MUSEUM AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER, WHICH AIMED TO FOSTER PARTICIPATION AND A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP AMONGST LOCAL RESIDENTS, PARK USERS AND MUSEUM VISITORS, AND CREATE A SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO LOOK AFTER THIS PARTICULAR PUBLIC SPACE. ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS AND AN ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE WORKED TOGETHER USING A RANGE OF PARTICIPATORY METHODS WE SUMMARISE AS ‘TALKING, WALKING AND MAKING’. HERE WE REFLECT CRITICALLY THROUGH THE FRAMEWORK OF ‘THE COMMONS’ TO IDENTIFY HOW AND WHY THE PROJECT FAILED TO PRODUCE ITS INTENDED OUTCOMES. WE FOCUS ON ONE OBJECT, THE PARK'S SHELTER; AND ONE EVENT, THE PARK’S 130^TH ANNIVERSARY, AS ‘BOUNDARY OBJECTS’ (STAR & GRIESEMER, 1989) TO REVEAL THE DISSONANT WORLD-VIEWS OF THE PROJECT’S PARTICIPANTS, CRITICALLY ASSESS ITS PARTICIPATORY METHODS, AND OFFER REFLEXIVITY FROM A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE.

THE EXPECTATION FOR PARTICIPATORY ARTS TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE TARGETED COMMUNITIES MIGHT LEAD TO THE CONCLUSION THAT NON-PARTICIPATION IS FAILURE. BUT IS IT NECESSARILY FAILURE? FOR ARTISTS NAVIGATING “ENTANGLED TERRITORIES” (HALVORSEN, 2017) AND “COMPETING NARRATIVES” (THOMPSON, 2009) IN THE MULTI-CULTURAL PARIS BANLIEUE, NON-PARTICIPATION OR REFUSAL IS AN INEVITABILITY THAT NEEDS TO BE EMBRACED. DRAWING ON THEORIES OF PARTICIPATION FROM THE FIELDS OF SOCIALLY ENGAGED PERFORMANCE, SOCIOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURAL STUDIES, THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES THE VALUE AND NUANCES OF INVISIBLE, MINIMAL, PERIPHERAL OR CONDITIONAL PARTICIPATION ENCOUNTERED IN THE NARROW SPACES FOR MANOEUVRE BETWEEN STAKEHOLDERS’ CONFLICTING AGENDAS. IT ARGUES THAT REFUSALS DO NOT NECESSARILY NEGATE THE WORK, AND THAT ATTENDING TO, AND REDEFINING, THESE MOMENTS MAY BE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING NOT ‘HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE BETTER’, BUT HOW TO PERCEIVE NON-PARTICIPATION AS AN ELOQUENT AFFIRMATION OF AGENCY AND A SIGNIFICANT PARTICIPATION IN SOMETHING ELSE.

SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART HAS, FOR SOME, BECOME A PROFESSIONALISED, FREELANCE FUNDED FORM OF LABOUR. IT IS WORK THAT INVOLVES EMOTIONAL LABOUR, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION, DEMONSTRATED BY THE TRUST THAT IS OFTEN NEEDED BETWEEN (PAID) ARTISTS AND (UNPAID) PARTICIPANTS IN ORDER FOR PROJECTS TO DEVELOP. IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE ALREADY PRECARIOUS FUNDING OF THIS INDUSTRY THERE IS A TENDENCY TO PROMOTE THE POSITIVE AND SUCCESSFUL ASPECTS OF THESE PROJECTS. THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES HOW THE IMPERATIVE TO PRESENT THE WORK IN A POSITIVE LIGHT HAS LED TO A CULTURE OF SILENCE AND INDIVIDUALISED ABSORPTION OF FAILURE WHEN THINGS START TO GO WRONG. THROUGH A RE-EXAMINATION OF A SERIES OF PERFORMATIVE INTERVIEWS, THE ARTICLE REFLECTS ON THIS PLAYFUL METHOD FOR SPEAKING OUT ABOUT UNFINISHED, CANCELLED OR COMPROMISED SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART JOBS. IN DOING SO, THE THEATRICAL FRAMEWORKS OF BOTH THE SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART JOB AND RESEARCH INTERVIEW ARE BROUGHT INTO FOCUS.