Arts Participation Manifesto Consultation Event
Arts Participation Manifesto Consultation Event
June 19, 2008
On Monday, 9th June 2008, the BFBB Development Officer was in London
with about fifty other people from a wide variety of arts organisations,
local authorities and umbrella bodies to assist in the development of
an Arts Participation Manifesto. Discussions focused around finding a
way of getting more people to engage with the arts in a positive way over
the next ten years.
The task of finding a consensus was not easy and took most of the day.
Activities centred on small groups that then put their observations and
opinions to the remaining delegates by combining themes through a process
of assembling ideas.
Though a definitive manifesto has not yet been agreed, key goals and a
means by which its aims might be met have been. The process of developing
a full blown Arts Participation Manifesto will no doubt take another twelve
months or more but a good start has been made. For once, a project that
claims to champion participation has started off by sending out the right
signals and, more importantly, involving people in its initial construction
processes.
