The level of cultural participation in publicly funded arts and culture has been an ongoing cause for concern for policy makers and state agencies in the Republic of Ireland and the UK. This has resulted in efforts to tackle economic, social, psychological, and spatial barriers to broaden access ā to cultural production and participation ā as key policy goals.Ā Our understanding of these barriers has prompted a number of development initiativesĀ designedĀ toĀ increaseĀ levels of cultural participation. Yet research shows these initiatives have largely failed to diversify audiencesĀ and broadenĀ the profile of cultural producers and makers.
Cultural Policy Observatory IrelandĀ andĀ Queenās University BelfastĀ were delighted to hostĀ Abigail GilmoreĀ (University of Manchester),Ā Leila JancovichĀ (University of Leeds) andĀ David StevensonĀ (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh) to lead us in a discussion exploring the assumptions, problems and capacity issues underlying how we define and value cultural participation in both policy and practice. The event took place atĀ Brian Friel Theatre / Queenās Film Theatre,Ā Queenās University BelfastĀ onĀ 23 October 2017.
Presentations are available here.
The cultural participant versus the cultural non-participant: defining desirable models of agency
Dr. David Stevenson
The Participation Myth
Dr. Leila Jancovich
Due to technical difficulties we were unable to record Leila Jancovich’s presentation.
Understanding cultural value in the everyday localities: museums and parks as the commons
Dr. Abigail Gilmore
