Supporting Arts and Enterprise Skills in Communities through Creative Engagement with the Local Area

The paper relates to a body of practice proposing a framework and methodology of artistic and creative social intervention that empowers and supports engagement with communities affected by change in their local environment. The paper was published by Common Ground in Volume 5 of the peer reviewed ‘International Journal of the Arts in Society’; edited researchers at the University of Illinois, USA and an international panel. It reports on a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Knowledge Transfer Fellowship, ‘Supporting arts and enterprise skills in communities through engagement with the local area’ Reference: AH/G017115/1 (£287,000) that ran from May 2009 to June 2012; Principal Investigator, Paul Haywood with Co-Investigator, Sam Ingleson. The theme links a series of practice projects with external partners representing public and third sector interests and affects; social campaigning, community capacity building and citizen empowerment. The paper reflects on the origins of the AHRC funded research and specifically draws on a public art in regeneration initiative that the team were responsible for between 2005 and 2008. The example engaged teenagers in a process creative enterprise intervention as a means of supporting their influence over capital infrastructure investments in their neighbourhood. The resulting concepts leading to funding proposed multi-agency collaborations and a principle of citizen leadership where creativity can enable and empowering. The paper explores observations about the potential of arts practice in supporting local activism and introduces a new emerging collaboration. The approach seeks to sustain the commitment of central stakeholders by focussing on metrics and benchmarks that they can own. Perspectives relevant to the published paper have been explored through presentations at 2 other conferences, including a Keynote for the Western Australia government. ‘Supporting Arts and Enterprise Skills in Communities through Creative Engagement with the Local Area’; workshop with Samantha Ingleson at the International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference 2010, Enterprise Educators UK and the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship. Cardiff University, Sept 2010. Keynote presentation - ‘Art Action: Social Enterprise’, ‘ARTSEDGE’ conference, Perth, Australia; at the invitation of the Department of Culture and the Arts and the Department of Education, Government of Western Australia. July 200