How are artist-led methodologies and cultural programmes in local government transforming civic participation, service provision, policy-making and governance? In this Learning Lab, we bring together several Greater London Council cultural programmes, which have incorporated creative acts of convening, speculation, manifesto-making and collaboration between artists, council workers, service users and wider residents.
As part of Lewisham Borough of Culture 2022, we engage with the recent Artists of Change Residencies, co-developed by Lewisham Council and Counterpoints Arts, highlighting Teatro Vivo’s focus on Lewisham Council’s call to action on Climate Emergency, and Dima Karout’s engagement with Lewisham’s ambition to be the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary.
Alongside this, we hear from on-going cultural programmes, including the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s New Town Culture, which is embedding culture as a core part of social care services, and the Mayor of London’s commissioned 2.8 Million Minds, which is exploring how culture can support young peoples’ mental health.
This Learning Lab provides an opportunity for collective learning from live case-studies and a practical space to workshop commissioning processes. To evaluate the tangible impact of creative collaborations and community manifestos that convene residents and local authorities in shared conversation and ownership of a borough. We welcome all council teams, artists, producers and community organisers.
Reflections from the Learning Lab will be visually documented by Migrants in Culture, and panels will be live-streamed / documented.
Counterpoints Arts’ Learning Lab Programme is committed to the collective power of public learning and the constructive risks entailed in pushing the boundaries of accepted knowledge and practice. Exploring migration, the creative arts and social change, together with the role and value of the arts and culture as a necessary, democratic right. Individual Labs facilitate lively exchange and debate, forging alliances between artists and activists, cultural workers, curators, educators, community residents, human rights advocates and policymakers. Breaking down silos and responding to need – where no one participant can claim hierarchy of thought or skill.
9.30 – 9:45 am: Welcome and Introductions, Dijana and Rachel …
Lewisham Borough of Culture – Artists of Change
9:45 – 10:30am: Lewisham Speaks
A walk-through and critical reflection with Theatro Vivo Co-Directors, Kas Darley and Mark Stevenson; and Martin O’Brien, Climate Resilience Manager, Lewisham Council. Moderator: Vicki Amedune, Associate Director the Albany
10:30 11:15 am: Internal Landscapes
A walk-through and critical reflection with Arts Curator and Creative Director, Dima Karout; Paul Aladenika, Head of Policy and Strategy, Lewisham Council; and Fergus Downie, Specialist Housing Support and Refugee Resettlement Manager, Lewisham Council. Moderator: Åine O’Brien, Curator of Learning and Research and Co-Founder, Counterpoint Arts
11:15 – 12:00: Coffee
12:00 – 1:30 pm: Working with a creative ethos in local government
A conversation between two on-going cultural programmes within local government, New Town Culture and 2.8 Million Minds, with Marijke Steedman, Senior Curator of Cultural Programmes at Barking & Dagenham Council, and James Leadbitter (vacuum cleaner), artist lead on 2.8 Million Minds. Moderator: Joon-Lynn Goh, GLA Civic Futures Fellow 21/22.
1:30 – 2:30 pm Lunch
Time for networking, engaging with project manifestos, short films and publications.
2:30 – 2:45 pm: Rapporteur
2:45 – 4:15 pm: 3 workshops: Commissions, Legacy and Manifestos
The collaborative workshops are designed to connect different sets of skills and ways of working together. Each workshop group will choose a moderator to facilitate the conversation and a notetaker to capture the gist of the collective thinking. Each group will have 10 mins to present back to the Learning Lab, at which point we will open a wider feedback discussion.
- Re-Imagining Commissions?
How might we re-imagine the architecture of commissions, specifically public projects that are shaped through collaboration and partnership between artists, local communities and council teams? Is there another way to co-design commissioning briefs, whereby diverse expectations about outputs/outcomes can be rehearsed and anticipated in advance? What have we learned from recent commissions that we can transfer and take forward into future work?
- Whose Legacy?
The term ‘legacy’ is frequently used but what does it mean in practice? That an artist-led and council collaboration has been effective in creating positive change for a community? Or that artist-led methodologies might influence council culture and practice? What does it mean for a Borough of Culture initiative or any place-based project to leave a legacy and for whom?
- Community Manifestos into Policy?
What is the journey from manifesto to policy? How might community aspirations and collective insights expressed in artistic manifestos, (comprising lived everyday experiences and calls to action) be translated into strategic, local policy plans? How might they influence council culture? What role might performative, co-produced manifestos play in shaping decision-making and service delivery at council and community level? (Artist facilitated community manifestos include, among others: Lewisham Speaks, 2.8 Million Minds, Climate Home, Moving Day. Covering the environment, mental health, youth, community integration, access to services, ownership over public space and shared decision-making).
4:15-5:00 pm: Feedback from Workshops; Final Wrap-up and Collective Actions
