Much of what I want to say today comes from the research that we carried out for this book. Edited by Gerri Moriarty and myself, it was published in the summer of 2017. We hope to announce soon more details about it becoming open access which means that anyone will be able to read it free online.
“Arts that belong to the artists cannot be community arts. Arts that can be let loose only within established citadels of the arts cannot be community arts. Community arts are those arts that are created wholly or in part by a community of people (however lightly defined); […] It follows through, for the present, that the community artist is an enabler or animator, and cannot be taking part in the process in order to make a complete personal statement, or to exhibit a private ego in a public way, or to enforce a political, moral or aesthetic view upon a passive audience […] It cannot be the purpose of such arts or skills to astonish a body of watchers into a delighted reception of already-perfected achievements; but to be able to reduce, withhold or allay themselves sufficiently so that the incipient skills of that community can begin to find expression”. (Gregory 1980: 20)
You can see the rest of the presentation at the link below
A radical and unreported history (pdf)
Dr. Alison Jeffers
Senior Lecturer in Drama
The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL
0161 275 3356
New publication: Culture, Democracy and the Right to Make Art. The British Community Arts Movement, edited by Alison Jeffers and Gerri Moriarty
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/culture-democracy-and-the-right-to-make-art-9781474258357/
