Mitigate power imbalances; prioritise equity

How To Co-Create: Practical Lessons From The Field

Co-creation can be misused, and the various risks that come with co-creation are explored in this guide. Alongside this are tips for using ethical methods that can help to reap the benefits of shared power and authorship. This guide warns against generic solutions, stating that local, societal factors must always be taken into account.

Why Malaysians Need a New Term to Define Cultural Appropriation and Appreciation

Analysis of cultural appropriation in Malaysia, even after centuries of intercultural exchange in Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous communities.

Five creative project scenarios are presented that raise questions of appropriation, and potential alternative ways of moving forward more ethically.

'Cultural power acknowledges that imbalances exist. It’s not just about sharing, but recognising that dominant cultures dictate what’s acceptable while minority cultures face erasure or stereotypes.'

Participatory Grantmaking Aims to Dismantle Power Imbalances between Funders and Communities

An interview with Urban Institute fellow Jasmine Johnson about participatory grant making. It provides insights into some of these knowledge gaps through a qualitative study of 10 funders in small, midsize, and large cities across the USA. Johnson gives key takeaways from her study in this interview, three things to consider before adopting participatory grant making and the challenges of using this funding model.

Grants Management Intelligence: participatory grantmaking

The continued rise of participatory grantmaking in Australia mirrors its growing prominence around the world. But which model is best for you? What does each involve? This resource provides a few options for you to consider.

Considering Co-creation

Discover how co-creation can help you actively listen to and collaborate with local communities and form new partnerships as well as helpful insight on putting it into practice. A report and three podcasts.

Auckland gallery Māori arts curator calls out colonial institutions after resigning

An article reporting on leading Maori curator Nigel Borell's resignation from Auckland Art Gallery. "There were challenges when it came to allowing Māori to have authority over their works and for Borell being able to lead in decision-making [...] We want to do it ourselves."

Creative Connections: Balancing responsibility and innovation in volatile times

A panel from Australia Council for the Arts featuring Ananth Gopal and Tom Henderson from Polykala & Polykala.

It asks: What forms of formal and informal authority do we have in our contexts? How do we feel about providing strong guidance, clear communication and directives? Who’s going to be hurting most in your sphere — what plans do we have in place to mitigate harm, reassure them or at least acknowledge their hardship?

The film industry has a gatekeeping problem

Oluwaseun Babalola describes her experiences in the film industry: "I’ve found that when I’ve pitched work in the past that there’s a lot of emphasis on diversity and all this stuff about authenticity, but that same authenticity is based on what gatekeepers think is authentic. Usually, when it comes to Black and African stories they want things rooted in trauma – which isn’t necessarily a story you want to tell."

Illustration by Paola De La Cruz.

Does the Museum Model Work?

Can art museums break away from their original purpose as a 'civilising' influence to be redefined as spaces that actually serve the communities in which they reside? The article includes quotes from former Queens Museum President and Executive Director Laura Raicovich and Chaédria LaBouvier, the first black curator and black woman to organize an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, who spoke out about being sidelined in the promotion of the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit she curated.

Ethics and engagement in community art

A discussion of the difficulties of getting engagement right, particularly in rural communities. "An ethics of mutual learning and openness" must offer not just "representation, but also ownership". Shuvangi Khadka adds "outside artists must remain open to their own vision being radically changed via community critique."

Anti-Racism Touring Rider and Toolkit

The Anti-Racism Touring Rider and Toolkit is a resource co-ordinated by a group of 15 national touring theatre companies in the UK.

It offers a series of actions for anti-racist practice, giving a framework to establish the baseline of expectations and support between stakeholders on a touring production.

The Gender Pay Gap Among Australian Artists: Some preliminary findings

In Australia in 2016/17, female artists earned 25% less than for males, and women earned 30% less from their creative work. These differentials were greater than the workforce gender pay gap of 16% at that time.

'We are therefore left with the conclusion that women artists across all artistic occupations are subject to forms of gender-related disadvantage that reflect discriminatory problems affecting women in society at large, and which may be more serious in the arts than in other areas.'

Preserving indigenous heritage and showcasing the arts of the Agta people

The Agtas are the aboriginal Filipinos who have been driven out of their lands to live on mountain tops and far-flung lakeshores. The Savage Mind Bookshop and its offshoot, Kamarin Art Gallery, have reached out to the Agta people of Lake Buhi to provide a means for them to create art, preserve their language and history, and ensure that their heritage and culture are not erased by the country’s rapid industrialisation.

Collaborative performances with migrant women

Tu cuerpo/El mío (Your Body/My Body) is a series of creative works featuring performance, action, texts and videos that are collaboratively created by women from migrant and non-migrant backgrounds.

"Tu cuerpo/El mío provides support and generates empathy through artistic exchange. The project stems from individual problems of exclusion, migration, poverty, machismo, racism and xenophobia. It responds by presenting society with collective artistic, collaboration and networks of support."

Desde Adentro

The Santa Margarita Youth Center is the only youth detention center for girls in Peru.

A filmmaking project, Desde Adentro, enabled detainees to take ownership of their own stories and replace stigma with pride. When young women are being deprived of their freedom, the opportunity to create becomes an important tool for them not only to feel heard, but also to reimagine and take back control of their own stories.

Life Jacket Project

In Palestine, the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation developed The Life Jacket project, to collaborate with communities to restore threatened historic buildings and to repurpose them as community spaces.

“Riwaq prioritises protecting and using local knowledge when preserving history, and adapting it to contemporary societal needs. This creates a dialogue that considers young people, heritage and indigenous knowledge.”

Jordan’s National Centre for Culture and Arts

The National Centre for Culture and Arts of King Hussein Foundation (NCCA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to incorporate performing arts in all levels of education, to encourage change in creativity and humanitarian values and cross-cultural understanding and to bring about social change. NCCA has been a pioneer in the development of dance and theatre in Jordan and in the region.

Blind Women’s Orchestra – Al-Nour Wal Al-Amal

Girls with disabilities in Egypt face stigma and discrimination within a conservative society that limits their education, employment, and decision-making opportunities. But Orchestra Al-Nour Wal Al-Amal (‘Light and Hope’), which is composed entirely of blind women, has broken stereotypes and provided a new narrative about Arab women living with disability.

Marginalised Voices in Midtown Cairo

El-Dammah Theatre has presented diverse and displaced musicians to mainstream Egyptian audiences since August 2010.

In the new era of economic openness, art became a commercial enterprise. I want to restore its spiritual value by establishing and sponsoring bands, producing albums and documentaries about them, and connecting them with other bands through international tours.” - Zakaria Ibrahim, Founder, El Dammah Theatre

Storytelling for social change

Founded in 2013, not-for-profit organisation Tai Tanzania uses storytelling tools such as 3D animation, radio dramas and short comics to influence positive behavioural change in adolescents by raising awareness about critical social community issues.

Building libraries to improve literacy

In the Philippines, the Library Renewal Partnership is working to change low literacy rates by building libraries in poor communities. Since 2010, they have helped build over 1,110 libraries, in areas populated by minorities and marginalised citizens.

Combining the traditions of Forest Theatre and Street Theatre

Brazil's Vivarte focuses on research and promotion of Amazonian traditional cultures. It works with the storytelling and mythology threaded through the daily life of indigenous communities and their environment.

“Forest Theatre is alive, because the forest is alive. Like the forest, it is in constant transformation.” - Dani Mirini, Director, Vivarte

Interweaving cultural traditions and artisan skills to build a better life

Shiro Meda in Addis Ababa is known as the epicentre of weavers, with many from the Gamo community in Southern Ethiopia. Many seek work in the Gundesh Meda Textile Production and Sales Centre, the government-built buildings that have brought hundreds of weavers, Gamos and others alike, together.

“…being in an association has allowed them to share experiences with other weavers, created job opportunities for them and provided them with a child-friendly work environment."

Making music accessible to the visually impaired

Founded in 2001, the Wusate Birhan Abera Music Training Centre was created to offer music education for the blind and visually impaired in Ethiopia, enabling aspiring young musicians to follow their passion and work towards a career in the music industry.