The participatory arts aim to engage communities and members of the public in the creative process, often with a focus on reaching those who rarely participate in cultural experiences. A number of studies underline the beneficial impact of participatory arts: The Arts Council of England noted that ‘active participation in the arts can have a significant impact on the wider determinants of health such as improving living environments, increasing educational attainment and building social capital.’ (The Arts, Health and Well-Being). Over the past few years, arts educators have been experimenting new ways to design their projects for and with participants and with the needs of increasingly diverse audiences in mind. Concurrently, RESEO has focused on helping education department staff and teaching artists develop skills and knowledge related to participatory projects, working in intercultural contexts and co-creation with diverse audiences. A 2015 RESEO study found that cultural institutions were becoming increasingly aware of the need to work with new technologies in order to increase participation and diversity in arts education activities. The study found however that using digital tools for outreach and education activities was easier said than done for arts institutions and companies with limited resources, with educators often lacking the necessary skills to implement activities effectively. Issues that persevere several years later and have been brought to the forefront by the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. A survey of RESEO members carried out in the second quarter of 2020 found that a lack of digital skills (technical knowledge, online facilitation skills, online collaboration skills, online management) remains a major issue for many educators working in the artistic, non-formal and social field. At the same time, it has been demonstrated that lower-income communities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic from an economic, health and psychosocial point of view, with the “digital divide”, or inequality of access to digital tools and resources, further impacting access to participation for those communities. Members of disadvantaged communities across Europe have suffered disproportionately from the effects of the 2020 health crisis. The Mind the Gap consortium is convinced that the participatory arts’ ability to foster social inclusion, well-being and employability is all the more essential in the wake of the crisis, and that digital upskilling can help education institutions and educators continue to connect to those communities, while contributing to creating innovative, durable solutions to drive the recovery of the European creative sector.
The original objectives, as laid out in the application, were the following: GENERAL OBJECTIVES - Promote social inclusion through participatory arts - Support the upskilling of educators working with disadvantaged communities through participatory arts - Improve the quality of adult education at a European level - Address the “digital divide” and differences in access to digital tools and activities for disadvantaged communities - Leverage the creativity demonstrated by educators throughout the 2020 health crisis and integrate it into durable solutions for recovery of the creative sector. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES - Implement a series of transnational and cross-sectorial activities enabling the upskilling of arts educators - Help arts educators become more confident in developing participatory online activities - Provide a space for strategic thinking in a general climate of urgency for the cultural and social sectors - Provide arts workers with resources and guides for working digitally with disadvantaged communities - Take stock of the current state of affairs with regards to digital participatory work and identify room for improvement - Facilitate access to participatory arts projects for disadvantaged communities, therefore reinforcing their creative potential. The scope of the project evolved to include the following objectives in addition to those described above: > Enable the development online and hybrid participatory projects within a digital strategy that centres inclusivity and the participant experience > Promote an entrepreneurial mindset for arts educators and institutions > Enable collaboration and exchange within and outside the arts sector > Foster a sustainable and ethical approach to working digitally - one that integrates fair remuneration for educators, environmental protection and safeguarding for data and copyright > Provide arts education professionals with resources to support advocacy efforts.
DIGITAL UPSKILLING FOR ARTS EDUCATORS AND INSTITUTIONS A RESEO study carried out in 2015 highlighted both a strong interest from arts educators and institutions in digital technologies for outreach, and a lack of skills required to implement digital projects successfully. A further survey in the summer of 2020 confirmed the increasing urgency of this issue, compounded by the digital exclusion affecting many beneficiaries. Mind the Gap (MTG) therefore aimed to provide those target groups with training and resources enabling them to engage successfully online. Research carried out as part of MTG raised further questions. In the initial project application, we stated “the issue for many educators is not so much a lack of facilities, as a lack of methods to engage learners online, especially those affected by the digital gap”. We found that “lack of facilities” was indeed an issue. The online/hybrid projects implemented in the early days of the pandemic using off-the-shelf, mainstream digital tools enabled a certain level of engagement of beneficiaries in an emergency context. However, the focus of digital has shifted since the inception of the project: there is now a greater emphasis on producing high quality, large scale digital experiences that have inclusivity at their core. While these technologies were outside the initial scope of the project, we developed resources aimed at helping target groups implement them (case studies, resources for managing large-scale digital projects & accessing funding, research). Needs addressed: > Digital skills > Self-confidence when implementing digital participatory work > Ability to engage beneficiaries affected by the digital gap > Knowledge about funding programmes and resources POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY FOR CCIS The CCIs were disproportionately affected by pandemic-era restrictions (closures, lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings). Online and hybrid participatory projects were essential in order to maintain connections with communities, but also to prepare for post-pandemic recovery. Until the pandemic, digital engagement in arts organisations was mainly confined to marketing and communications departments. The MTG consortium was convinced of its potential not only to engage wider and previously untapped audiences, but also to “retool” the CCIs and promote an entrepreneurial mindset. Needs addressed: > Space for strategic reflection and peer exchange around post-covid recovery > Ability to successfully implement a digital transformation process DIGITAL INCLUSION Digital technologies can enable arts organisations to reach wider and previously untapped audiences and engage in different and more relevant ways. However, they also have the ability to compound existing barriers to access, and working exclusively with those who are already “digitally included” is counterproductive and socially irresponsible. MTG therefore addressed the following needs: > Skills required to engage online with participants affected by the digital gap > Ability for organisations to develop policies that address the digital gap > Understanding of the multifaceted nature of digital exclusion > Ability to work with other sectors to offer support in fostering digital literacy and addressing the digital divide. ACCESS TO PARTICIPATORY ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES The participatory arts are demonstrated to have a positive impact on physical, social and mental wellbeing. All members of the MTG consortium are strongly committed to enabling greater participation in cultural experiences. Digital technologies furthermore have the potential to increase the social benefits of participation in cultural activities, such as more connected communities, acquisition of new skills and improved sense of entrepreneurship. In addition to those mentioned above, MTG addressed the following needs: > Accessible online and hybrid experiences that centre inclusivity > Ability for arts educators and institutions to develop cultural experiences based on participant needs