Introduction

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

DESPITE THE CELEBRATORY APPROACH TOWARDS COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN PEACE-BUILDING, LESS ATTENTION HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE PARTICIPATORY PROCESS ITSELF, LEAVING AMBIGUOUS HOW, AND TO WHAT DEGREE, POWER IS ACTUALLY REDISTRIBUTED IN THESE PROCESSES. THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO ADDRESS THIS GAP BY FURTHER DEVELOPING TORRE’S CONCEPT OF THE PARTICIPATORY CONTACT ZONE. THIS NOTION FIRST STRUCTURES A MAPPING OF CYPRIOT BI-COMMUNAL EDUCATION-RELATED PROJECTS (2010-2015) AND THEN SUPPORTS AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF ONE PROJECT, THE CYPRUS FRIENDSHIP PROGRAM (CFP). THIS CASE STUDY USES CARPENTIER’S FOUR-LEVEL, TWELVE-STEP MODEL FOR PARTICIPATORY ANALYSIS TO SCRUTINIZE THE PARTICIPATORY INTENSITY OF THE CFP’S ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES, FOCUSING ON THE POWER POSITION OF THE INVOLVED YOUNGSTERS. IT SHOWS THAT TEENAGERS PARTICIPATE IN THE CFP AT VARYING DEGREES: WHILE THEIR POWER POSITION ON A MORE STRUCTURAL LEVEL IS LIMITED, THERE ARE THREE AREAS WHERE THESE YOUNGSTERS BECOME MORE EMPOWERED: CO-ORGANIZATION (AT LOWER LEVELS), THE TEAMWORK DURING ACTIVITIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW INITIATIVES.
</abstract>

PROFESSOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATICS AND MEDIA

Participatory Contact Zones and Conflict Transformation: The Participatory Intensities of the Cyprus Friendship Program

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO SHARE SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE LONG RESEARCH EXPERIENCE I HAVE DEVELOPED WITH CIRCUS ARTISTS IN THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA. THESE REFLECTIONS REVOLVE AROUND THE QUESTION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, PARTICULARLY ANTHROPOLOGY, THROUGH RESEARCH PRACTICES CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION WITH ARTISTS. I AM INTERESTED IN RETHINKING THE ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER BY UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE FROM A CONCEPTION IN WHICH COMMITMENT, COLLABORATION, AND PARTICIPATORY KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING CAN POTENTIATE RESEARCH PRACTICES AND, AT THE SAME TIME, CREATE DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES. WHAT ARE THE THEORETICAL-METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE ROLES WE CAN PLAY THROUGHOUT A LONG RESEARCH PROCESS? WHAT ARE THE TOOLS WE CAN USE WHEN CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON THE FIELDS WE ALSO PARTICIPATE IN, SOCIALLY AND POLITICALLY? HOW CAN WE RECONCILE THE TIME IT TAKES TO CONDUCT ACADEMIC WORK WITH THE SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES FOR EVENTS TO UNFOLD IN REAL-TIME?
</abstract>

Working with Circus Artists: Reflections on a Process of Collaborative Research, Participation and Commitment

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

THIS PAPER DEALS WITH A PARTICIPATORY FILMMAKING PROJECT INVOLVING YOUNG RESIDENTS OF A NEIGHBORHOOD IN A SWISS TOWN, LOCAL SOCIOCULTURAL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE LOCAL POLICE, AND AN INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER. SEEKING TO QUERY WHAT PARTICIPATION MEANS IN SUCH A SETTING, WE PROPOSE AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK THAT CONSIDERS THREE SCALES OF PARTICIPATION: THE PARTICIPATORY NODE, THE PARTICIPATIVE COLLABORATION, AND PARTICIPATION AS AN ARGUMENT IN THE TOP-DOWN SETTING OF A MUNICIPAL POLICY. AS RESEARCHERS, WE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE ENTIRE RAW UNEDITED FILM MATERIAL THAT DOCUMENTS THE WHOLE PRODUCTION PROCESS. FOCUSING ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE FILMMAKER AND THE YOUTHS, THE PAPER EXPLORES HOW MULTIPLE BELONGINGS ARE MOBILIZED IN ORDER TO NEGOTIATE THE FRONTIER BETWEEN PARTICIPATION AND AUTHORITY, NAMELY THROUGH JOKING RELATIONSHIPS. WE DIFFERENTIATE THIS FORM OF AUTHORITY FROM THE SYMBOLIC VIOLENCE EXERTED BY INSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATIVES IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT THE CONDITIONS BY WHICH ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP IS MADE POSSIBLE.
</abstract>

Analyzing Participatory Cultural Practices in a Medium-Scale Swiss Town: How Multiple Belongings are Constructed and Consolidated Through an Interactive Filmmaking Process

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

IN RESPONSE TO THE IDEALS OF CULTURAL CRITIQUE, COMPLEXITY AND MORAL RELATIVISM PROMOTED IN POSTMODERN ANTHROPOLOGY, DIFFERENT ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN RECENT DECADES TO MAKE ANTHROPOLOGY MORE ‘ENGAGED’ IN THE PROMOTION OF SOCIAL CHANGE. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE FOCUS ON THREE CENTRAL CONTEMPORARY POSITIONS ON ANTHROPOLOGICAL ENGAGEMENT: POLICY-ORIENTED ACTIVIST RESEARCH, FEMINIST-INSPIRED COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH, AND WHAT WE HAVE CHOSEN TO CALL RESEARCH FOR ALTERITY AND ALTERNATIVES. EACH OF THESE APPROACHES HIGHLIGHTS CERTAIN IDEAS OF PARTICIPATION AND THEREBY CONJURE UP PARTICULAR KINDS OF COMMUNITIES TO WORK WITH AND THROUGH. WE DISCUSS THE VALUE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE THREE POSITIONS ON ENGAGEMENT AND ARGUE THAT, IN ALL ITS DIVERSITY, ANTHROPOLOGICAL PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH CAN PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CO-CREATING PLATFORMS FOR RESISTANCE AND PROTEST AGAINST VARIOUS FORMS OF DOMINATION AND OPPRESSION WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY CONTRIBUTING TO PREPARING THE GROUND FOR ALTERNATIVE IMAGINATIONS, DESIRES AND WAYS OF LIVING.
</abstract>

Engagement Beyond Critique?

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

THIS PAPER OUTLINES AN ARTISTIC METHOD COMBINING A SOCIALLY ENGAGED AND SITE-RESPONSIVE ARTS PRACTICE WITH SOCIOLOGICAL DISCURSIVE REFLECTION THAT AIMED TO CHALLENGE THE STIGMATISING STEREOTYPES ASSOCIATED WITH MANY LOW-INCOME NEIGHBOURHOODS IN AUSTRALIA. WE CHARACTERISE OUR APPROACH AS ‘TOUCHY’ TO DRAW ATTENTION TO ISSUES THAT INFORMED OUR APPROACH: THE SENSITIVITY OF THE TOPIC OF STIGMA FOR RESIDENTS; THE NEED FOR A PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHOD THAT SENSITISED PARTICIPANTS TO SEE/PERCEIVE BEYOND STEREOTYPES; AND AIMS OF CREATING EXPERIENTIAL AND TACTILE ARTWORKS THAT COULD ENGAGE LOCAL AND WIDER AUDIENCES IN THE ISSUES. THE PAPER DISCUSSES OUR RATIONALE FOR THE METHOD AND EXPLICATES COMPONENTS OF THE APPROACH – EXCURSIONS, WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES AND EXHIBITIONS – AND DRAWS ON ARTEFACTS, ARTWORKS AND INTERVIEW MATERIAL TO VISUALISE AND GIVE VOICE TO PARTICIPANTS’ EXPERIENCES OF THE PROJECT. ARTISTIC AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES WERE SUGGESTIVE OF THE POTENTIAL OF THIS APPROACH TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE, EXPERIENTIAL PORTRAYALS THAT MIGHT CHALLENGE THE PERSISTENTLY NEGATIVE STEREOTYPING OF LOW-INCOME NEIGHBOURHOODS.
</abstract>

CURRENTLY A FREELANCE ARTIST AND HONORARY RESEARCH FELLOW AT UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

HONORARY PRINCIPAL FELLOW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Touchy Art: A Phenomenological Approach to Artistic Practice in Stigmatised Neighbourhoods

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

WITH THIS PAPER, WE WISH TO SHARE THE EXPERIENCE OF AN ARTS-BASED ACTION RESEARCH INTERVENTION IN THE SOFIA STREET, IN COIMBRA (PORTUGAL), A CITY STREET THAT WAS INSCRIBED AS AN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN 2013. THIS INTERVENTION IS PART OF THE BIGGER ACTION-RESEARCH PROJECT NAMED ARTERIA (2018-2020), WHERE WE WISH TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE ARTISTIC PRACTICE AND THE FIELD OF SOCIAL SCIENCE. IN THIS PAPER, WE DESCRIBE HOW THE FIELD RESEARCH, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THIS STREET (THE PREPARATION OF COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION), OFFERS A PROCESS OF METHODOLOGICAL EXPLORATION ON HOW SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGIES MAY BE ARTICULATED WITH THE PROCESSES OF ARTISTIC CREATION. WE SHOW HOW THIS CAN BE DONE BY DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO CULTURAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH THE PROCESS OF IMMATERIAL CO-CREATION OF KNOWLEDGE. AT THE SAME TIME, WE SHARE REFLECTIONS ON HOW THE ARTISTIC INTERVENTION MAY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF SOFIA STREET.
</abstract>

Community Engaged Research

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

THE ARTICLE PRESENTS THE ARTSEQUAL INITIATIVE, WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE STRATEGIC RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE ACADEMY OF FINLAND. THE SIX-YEAR PROJECT, FUNDED FROM A SUB-PROGRAMME AIMING TO INCREASE EQUALITY IN SOCIETY, IS CONSTRUCTED ON THE VISIONARY QUESTION: WHAT IF THE ARTS WERE UNDERSTOOD TO BE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF PUBLIC SERVICES? THE PROJECT SETS OUT TO IDENTIFY MECHANISMS AND REMOVE BARRIERS THAT HINDER EQUALITY FROM BEING ESTABLISHED BOTH WITHIN THE ARTS AND THROUGH THEM IN SOCIETY AT LARGE. THE PROJECT IS MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND DRAWS LARGELY UPON PARTICIPATORY, PRACTICE-LED METHODOLOGIES. IT IS CARRIED OUT IN SIX RESEARCH TEAMS AND IN TWO PHASES, THE FIRST OF WHICH CONSISTED OF NUMEROUS ARTS INTERVENTIONS COMBINED WITH RESEARCH. THE CONCLUSIVE PHASE THAT LINKS THE FINDINGS AND EXPERIENCES FROM THE CASE STUDIES TOGETHER VIA QUALITATIVE SYSTEM ANALYSIS STARTED IN THE BEGINNING OF 2018. THE AUTHORS ARE LEADERS OF TWO OF THE RESEARCH TEAMS, AND HERE THEY PRESENT THE ENTIRE RESEARCH INITIATIVE AS WELL AS EXEMPLARY SUB-STUDIES FROM THEIR OWN TEAMS. THEY DISCUSS THE RESEARCH PROJECT AND THE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS IN VIEW OF THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE ARTIST IN SOCIETY, A SHARED PROBLEMATIC BETWEEN THEIR TEAMS. THEY ALSO REFLECT ON THE ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES THAT PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING MAY BRING TO ARTISTIC PRACTICES AND RESEARCH.
</abstract>

Artsequal 2015–2021: The Challenges of a Large-Scale Research Initiative in Finland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

AS IT IS CONSIDERED A FLOW ZONE, NOBODY PAYS ATTENTION TO FLYOVERS IN THE CITIES NOR TO THEIR REGULAR INHABITANTS, HOMELESS PEOPLE. REGARDLESS OF THEIR SOCIAL INVISIBILITY, HOMELESS PEOPLE DO NOT SOLELY ADOPT STRATEGIES TO FIGHT AGAINST MARGINALISATION BUT ALSO ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE CERTAIN ECONOMIC AUTONOMY. THIS PAPER FOCUSES ON A LOCAL ECONOMIC EXPERIENCE, WHERE HOMELESS PEOPLE, UNDER A LARGE BRAZILIAN FLYOVER, GET TOGETHER TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN AN EXCHANGE FAIR WHERE A SOCIAL CURRENCY IS USED. I ARGUE THAT WE MUST DRAW ATTENTION TO THE EMERGENCE OF DIFFERENT AND COMPLEX FORMS OF COLLABORATIVE WORK AND COLLECTIVE CONSUMPTION, SINCE THEY MAY RESCUE CITIZENSHIP, PROMOTE A CERTAIN KIND OF ECONOMIC AUTONOMY, AND CONSTITUTE A POWERFUL TOOL AGAINST SOCIAL INVISIBILITY. I ALSO DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT CONSUMPTION PERSPECTIVE THAT HAS BEEN CONSOLIDATED THROUGH THIS INITIATIVE, BY BRINGING FORWARD OTHER FORMS OF CONSUMPTION NOT BASED ON SOCIAL DISTINCTION.
</abstract>

Under the Flyover: Homeless People, Power of Choice and the Practice of Autonomy Through an Exchange Fair

“Cultural Participation as the Essence of Life”

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 11 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

Volume 10 (2023): Issue 1 (October 2023)

Volume 9 (2022): Issue 2 (October 2022)

Volume 9 (2022): Issue 1 (June 2022)

Volume 8 (2021): Issue 1 (January 2021) Health, Media and Participation

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

Volume 7 (2020): Issue 1 (July 2020) Feminism, Gender, Social Movements and Everyday Resistance

Volume 6 (2019): Issue 1 (December 2019) Cultural Participation, Social Media Affect and Art

Volume 5 (2018): Issue 1 (May 2018) Community and Creative Research. Developing Participatory Methodologies

Volume 4 (2017): Issue 1 (December 2017) Playful Participation II

Volume 3 (2016): Issue 1 (June 2016) Playful Participation

Volume 2 (2015): Issue 2 (December 2015) Participation across Institutional and Disciplinary Boundaries

Volume 2 (2015): Issue 1 (October 2015) Mediatized Cultural Activism

Volume 1 (2014): Issue 1 (November 2014) Participatory Cultural Citizenship

Conjunctions

Conjunctions seeks to create an international and transdisciplinary forum for the investigation of user-generated cultural production, user-driven cultural participation and citizen involvement across a variety of social fields, contexts and practices, e.g. urban spaces, (digital) media, social media platforms, education and teaching, the cultural sector and creative industries, aesthetic productions and museums, health institutions, activism and design.  The overall focus of the journal is to explore the socially transformative and democratic potential of cultural participation processes, to qualify the academic understanding of what ‘participation’ is and what it involves, and to discuss the complex relations created between user-generated processes and established institutions and discourses.  We take an interest in critical analyses of participatory practices, rhetoric and involvement strategies, in affirmative investigations of participation, in explorations of explicit or conscious and implicit or non-conscious forms of participation.  Submitted articles can be focused on theoretical development or on empirical analysis (of e.g. case studies). We also welcome work that use innovative or creative methods as well as more traditional methods.  The journal invites submissions from a variety of disciplinary fields such as media and communication studies, cultural studies, interaction and participatory design, cultural geography, education, aesthetics, science and technology studies, health care, health communication, information science, sociology, anthropology, development studies and gender studies.  The journal is published twice every year.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Volume 5 (2018): Issue 1 (May 2018) - Community and Creative Research. Developing Participatory Methodologies