When I hear the term Community Art, I find it difficult not
to think of kids painting ugly murals, sewing circles putting their work in a
glass cabinet, and dare I say it, occupational therapy. Not cool, I hear you say, but I’m afraid
that’s the stigma community art has.
The interaction between communities and the arts is really
important, and just recently I’ve come to realise that things have changed
since I developed my (frankly) narrow-minded view on what Community Art
is. The root of my old beliefs is an
issue of language which brings with it a social divide: Art versus art. (Capital) Art people believe that (lower
case) art people are quaint because they try so hard to make pretty pictures
but have no idea of the complex nature of ‘real’ art, and find it irritating
that everyone gets to say they're an artist because they once participated in a
weekend workshop. (Lower case) art
people believe that (capital) Art people are elitist wankers who think that if
your art isn’t publicly acknowledged or in a huge gallery it’s rubbish, and
will defend even the ugliest, ‘least artistic’ turd in a gallery saying that
it’s an important piece of art history.
No prizes for guessing which camp I call home...
But now I’m slightly older and (hopefully) wiser, I can see
that these things aren’t so black and white.
The community groups that get together to paint a mural, or to take part
in a workshop, or use artistic activities to work through an issue or even just
to be sociable, are engaged in what I can see as one of three categories of
Community Art: Arts-based community activities.
And while these activities aren’t high art in any sense, they do serve a
purpose in the community, and they do expose artistic thinking and processes to
a very wide audience. Not my cup of tea,
but who made me the king of everything artsy, right?
Building a community of artists is another of my categories
of Community Art. This is something
that’s vital in developing the arts in any wide community. Artists need to be in communication with
other artists to stay connected with the world around them and to continue
their practice in any meaningful way.
This happens in heaps of different ways, but I don’t think they’re
always recognised as a community of artists because they’re not structured
networking systems like clubs or organisations.
Quite a lot of the time it’s really about socialising at arts events and
getting to know the other artists in your local area. Schmoozing around and keeping your ear to the
ground is how you participate in these communities. Having said that, clubs, groups, and organisations
do make it easier to be a part of an artistic community, for example the amazing job Creative Capricorn do in my local area in connecting artists and facilitating projects. Networking has become even easier now with
the use of social media like Facebook, where artists can meet up, spread word
of shows and projects, and post and comment on each other’s work.
Although these first two categories of Community Art are
great, this is where I think things are getting exciting. Community-focussed arts. This is where arts organisations use their
core business of producing and promoting the arts to develop social interaction
and positive community values. I’ve come
across two fantastic examples of this in recent times that really exemplify the
idea of community-focussed arts. The
first is my local gallery (the Rockhampton Art Gallery) which has recently
changed the way it manages its shows, and begun to involve the wider community
to a greater extent. It’s started to
hold exhibitions which are aimed more towards the traditionally ‘un-artsy’
people, in particular exhibitions highlighting local sporting heroes (including
one specifically about rugby league) and a fashion-based show. They’ve also started showing works which may
have been considered a little risqué for a regional gallery, making the gallery
a bit more cutting edge and appealing to a younger crowd.
A call went out from the gallery to help purchase a Ben
Quilty painting via donations. This isn’t
a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but the call promised to make contributors
of over $500 an official Donor. This is
almost communal ownership of a piece of contemporary art! My only real issue is of the $500
threshold. Why not acknowledge everyone who donates? Someone may not be able to afford to drop that
much cash, but could maybe scrape together five or ten bucks for the
cause. Personally, I’d love to see the
painting exhibited right next to all
of the names of those who donated. They
could even be arranged with different text sizes to represent the size of the
contribution, but imagine seeing your name (no matter how small) next to a
fabulous painting that your dollars helped to buy. Now that’s community engagement! But I digress... all of these measures have
begun to make the gallery a central part of the community, not just a space for
art weirdoes and oldies to spend their time.
The art has begun to shape and build the community around it.
The other amazing example of community-focussed arts is an initiative
in Toowoomba called TheGrid. This is a
space that houses well over ten different artistic enterprises in the one
building. Again, not a new concept, but
it’s the spirit in which it is run that makes all the difference. It blows away the old ideas of an arts centre
that’s hidden away from the world, known only to a special few; it’s inviting
and exciting and inspiring. But best of
all, it’s not an ‘everyone gets to put their painting up’ type of space. It’s serious (capital) Art, but specifically
aimed at engaging whole communities. It
has a gallery, creative writing programs, dance spaces and programs, retail
spaces, and even film makers. You can’t
just rock up and have your turn at being an artist, but if you have skill or
dedication or talent or even just a vague interest, you can become involved and
mingle and share and explore, and with any luck build up the community using
your own skill set. Creativity and community
engagement are the twin backbones at TheGrid.
It’s a prime example of how the arts can be community driven, but not
watered down.
Turns out that I’ve always been quite passionate about
Community Art, I just didn’t quite understand the whole spectrum of the term. The notion that I have this blog at all is
testament to that fact. I do believe
that everyone should engage in the arts, and I love the idea of the community
being truly involved in arts organisations and events. I just hope I don’t visibly cringe the next
time I see an ‘art exhibition’ of first-time crochet workshop participants.
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/230133613696489/
(Contemporary Artists of Rockhampton)
