Co-creation: On Whose Terms?
Co-creation, participatory art, socially-engaged practice—the words matter less than the idea that art created with, and by, non-professional artists can be excellent.
More than that, it is different from what professionals create because it invites new voices, sensibilities and issues. The practice is old but it has a new urgency at a time of great cultural, technological and social change. Our ideas of culture, and especially of its quality, values and legitimacy, are fragmenting and contested: some even speak of ‘culture wars’. Just as importantly, the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that every citizen has ‘the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community’ remains partial at best.
Co-creation is increasingly proposed as a solution to these tensions, but people have different ideas of what it means. A practice that involves sharing the power of cultural creation brings obvious risks of inequality and exploitation. What kind of access to artistic creation is being offered, to whom and on what terms? What ethical and artistic responsibilities do professional artists have when they invite others to join them on a stage? How should we think about the results or assess its quality? The conference will explore these themes through case studies from Banlieues Bleues and other music producers. It will be animated by François Matarasso, who brings 40 years’ experience of co- creation in countries across Europe and further afield.
François Matarasso biography
François Matarasso (France/UK) is a community artist, writer and researcher. His 1997 report, ‘Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the arts’, established influential concepts in cultural policy, and his subsequent work has been widely published and translated. He has worked for foundations, cultural institutions and public bodies in about 40 countries; he has been a trustee of NESTA, Arts Council England and the Baring Foundation and has held honorary professorships in the UK and Australia. Between 2011 and 2015 he worked on undervalued areas of cultural life under the collective title ‘Regular Marvels’. His latest book “A Restless Art – How participation won and why it matters”, was published in 2019. He was a partner in Traction (2020-22) which researched how technology can support opera co-creation and social inclusion, and the writer of Co-creating Opera (2023).
Program
Tuesday 28th of March
SAINT DENIS : Salle du Conseil Municipal
Partners Meeting : 11:00 – 12:30
Conference directed by François Matarasso, with the EJN : 14:30 - 18:00
PANTIN : La Dynamo
19:30 : ANGRR + ORTIE (concert - optionnal)
Wednesday 29th of March
SAINT DENIS : Salle du Conseil Municipal
Conference directed by François Matarasso and Xavier Lemettre : 10:30 – 12:00 and 14:00 – 17:00
BOBIGNY : Salle Pablo Neruda
19:00 : OSTRAKINDA – Le Bruissement des pistes (participative concert)
Thursday 30th of March
BOBIGNY : Salle Pablo Neruda
Exchange with Olivier Lété, the artistic teams of Ostrakinda and “La tribu éphémère” 10:30 – 12:00