This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling ... more This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling and Myth, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in 2012-2013. The project was inadvertently in two parts, as a consequence of logistics and geography. Joe Painter and Raksha Pande worked on delivering arts-based research in the North East, in Durham and South Shields, while we worked in the South West in Bristol and Dorset, collaborating also with the team at Beyond the Borders festival, connected by Hamish Fyfe. This chapter tells the story of our investigations into “what is local” and who feels local in the South West. The creative interventions and illustrations as well as the final project report can be seen on http://localismnarrativemyth.weebly.com.
This chapter builds on ideas and findings from research conducted to consider the distinctive ele... more This chapter builds on ideas and findings from research conducted to consider the distinctive elements of grassroots arts activities in communities. It highlights the current critical framing of grassroots arts activities and identifies the range of claims made around the impacts of informal arts participation, particularly concerning individual and social well-being, social cohesion and place-making. The authors suggest future directions for research in the field to develop a broader understanding of the experiences and practices of grassroots activities and their role in communities.
Abstract This article outlines the creation and testing of a practice-as-research methodology tha... more Abstract This article outlines the creation and testing of a practice-as-research methodology that investigates whether introducing playful interventions into a habitual cultural practice – in this case, walking – can heighten an individual’s openness to encountering the strange and unfamiliar, with a view to increasing receptivity for communication and dialogue. The focus on physical movement as trigger for intellectual, psychological or emotional change distinguishes this research from other, more conceptual, ideational strategies. The methodology emerges from a performing arts practice centred around notions of play and draws on contemporary geographical discourses concerned with relationships to place as well as on qualitative methods of inquiry. Creating a series of experiments and interventions to look anew at our surroundings, the research locates itself within practices that are concerned with critically exploring the cultural geographies of cities through performative and affectual approaches. The article examines some of the empirical findings of the research specifically related to negotiating encounters across difference presented by the other articles in this issue.
The arts and social justice: Recrafting adult …, 2007
Scotland, July 2005. Anti-G8 mobilisations. A small group of clowns is making its way to the G8 A... more Scotland, July 2005. Anti-G8 mobilisations. A small group of clowns is making its way to the G8 Alternatives march. They pass over a bridge above the motorway. Half a dozen policemen line up, they face the line of clowns and stare at each other. Two clowns start to count down: ...
Over 2009-2010, the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) undertook work to identify the current st... more Over 2009-2010, the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) undertook work to identify the current state of knowledge on small, below the radar, community groups and activities. This highlighted the lack of research into the contribution of grass-roots or amateur arts organisations make in communities. This gap in knowledge is substantial, given that there are an estimated 49,000 such groups in England. In partnership with the Universities of Exeter and Glamorgan as well as Voluntary Arts, and with financial support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Connected Communities programme, the Centre undertook a scoping study to assess the lessons from the academic and grey literature across the arts, social sciences and voluntary sector. This identified a range of different impacts and outcomes in terms of amateur arts groups. For individuals, participation in arts based activities ‘for their own sake’ could promote their mental health and wellbeing. Some involved, particularly y...
This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling ... more This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling and Myth, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in 2012-2013. The project was inadvertently in two parts, as a consequence of logistics and geography. Joe Painter and Raksha Pande worked on delivering arts-based research in the North East, in Durham and South Shields, while we worked in the South West in Bristol and Dorset, collaborating also with the team at Beyond the Borders festival, connected by Hamish Fyfe. This chapter tells the story of our investigations into “what is local” and who feels local in the South West. The creative interventions and illustrations as well as the final project report can be seen on http://localismnarrativemyth.weebly.com.
This essay offers an experiential account of the development of " rebel clowning " as a practice ... more This essay offers an experiential account of the development of " rebel clowning " as a practice that emerged in the context of the anti-globalisation movements in the UK, bringing together the ancient art of clowning and more recent practices of non-violent direct action. The essay traces the legacies of rebel clowning, outlines the tactics and strategies that comprise its humour, and analyses key activist moments in its trajectory in the first decade of the 21 st century. By inserting the logic of clowning into the activist realm, the essay argues, the tired binary between protester and authority, or activists and their opponents, is shaken and cheerfully disrupted. On Police radio, during an action against NSA Menwith Hill spy base, the voice of a police commander was heard, nervously trying to alert reinforcements: '….the clowns are organising… the clowns are organising – over and out…' (Klepto and Up Evil 2005: 243.)
This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling ... more This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling and Myth, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in 2012-2013. The project was inadvertently in two parts, as a consequence of logistics and geography. Joe Painter and Raksha Pande worked on delivering arts-based research in the North East, in Durham and South Shields, while we worked in the South West in Bristol and Dorset, collaborating also with the team at Beyond the Borders festival, connected by Hamish Fyfe. This chapter tells the story of our investigations into “what is local” and who feels local in the South West. The creative interventions and illustrations as well as the final project report can be seen on http://localismnarrativemyth.weebly.com.
This chapter builds on ideas and findings from research conducted to consider the distinctive ele... more This chapter builds on ideas and findings from research conducted to consider the distinctive elements of grassroots arts activities in communities. It highlights the current critical framing of grassroots arts activities and identifies the range of claims made around the impacts of informal arts participation, particularly concerning individual and social well-being, social cohesion and place-making. The authors suggest future directions for research in the field to develop a broader understanding of the experiences and practices of grassroots activities and their role in communities.
Abstract This article outlines the creation and testing of a practice-as-research methodology tha... more Abstract This article outlines the creation and testing of a practice-as-research methodology that investigates whether introducing playful interventions into a habitual cultural practice – in this case, walking – can heighten an individual’s openness to encountering the strange and unfamiliar, with a view to increasing receptivity for communication and dialogue. The focus on physical movement as trigger for intellectual, psychological or emotional change distinguishes this research from other, more conceptual, ideational strategies. The methodology emerges from a performing arts practice centred around notions of play and draws on contemporary geographical discourses concerned with relationships to place as well as on qualitative methods of inquiry. Creating a series of experiments and interventions to look anew at our surroundings, the research locates itself within practices that are concerned with critically exploring the cultural geographies of cities through performative and affectual approaches. The article examines some of the empirical findings of the research specifically related to negotiating encounters across difference presented by the other articles in this issue.
The arts and social justice: Recrafting adult …, 2007
Scotland, July 2005. Anti-G8 mobilisations. A small group of clowns is making its way to the G8 A... more Scotland, July 2005. Anti-G8 mobilisations. A small group of clowns is making its way to the G8 Alternatives march. They pass over a bridge above the motorway. Half a dozen policemen line up, they face the line of clowns and stare at each other. Two clowns start to count down: ...
Over 2009-2010, the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) undertook work to identify the current st... more Over 2009-2010, the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) undertook work to identify the current state of knowledge on small, below the radar, community groups and activities. This highlighted the lack of research into the contribution of grass-roots or amateur arts organisations make in communities. This gap in knowledge is substantial, given that there are an estimated 49,000 such groups in England. In partnership with the Universities of Exeter and Glamorgan as well as Voluntary Arts, and with financial support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Connected Communities programme, the Centre undertook a scoping study to assess the lessons from the academic and grey literature across the arts, social sciences and voluntary sector. This identified a range of different impacts and outcomes in terms of amateur arts groups. For individuals, participation in arts based activities ‘for their own sake’ could promote their mental health and wellbeing. Some involved, particularly y...
This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling ... more This chapter explores the methodology and methods underpinning a project, Localism, Storytelling and Myth, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in 2012-2013. The project was inadvertently in two parts, as a consequence of logistics and geography. Joe Painter and Raksha Pande worked on delivering arts-based research in the North East, in Durham and South Shields, while we worked in the South West in Bristol and Dorset, collaborating also with the team at Beyond the Borders festival, connected by Hamish Fyfe. This chapter tells the story of our investigations into “what is local” and who feels local in the South West. The creative interventions and illustrations as well as the final project report can be seen on http://localismnarrativemyth.weebly.com.
This essay offers an experiential account of the development of " rebel clowning " as a practice ... more This essay offers an experiential account of the development of " rebel clowning " as a practice that emerged in the context of the anti-globalisation movements in the UK, bringing together the ancient art of clowning and more recent practices of non-violent direct action. The essay traces the legacies of rebel clowning, outlines the tactics and strategies that comprise its humour, and analyses key activist moments in its trajectory in the first decade of the 21 st century. By inserting the logic of clowning into the activist realm, the essay argues, the tired binary between protester and authority, or activists and their opponents, is shaken and cheerfully disrupted. On Police radio, during an action against NSA Menwith Hill spy base, the voice of a police commander was heard, nervously trying to alert reinforcements: '….the clowns are organising… the clowns are organising – over and out…' (Klepto and Up Evil 2005: 243.)
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