Top of page

Notice
Monday, February 16, 2026: For the President's Day holiday, The Library will open under normal operating hours.

Book/Printed Material Culture, democracy and the right to make art : the British community arts movement

View Enlarged Image

About this Item

Title

  • Culture, democracy and the right to make art : the British community arts movement

Summary

  • "Based on the words and experiences of the people involved, this book tells the story of the community arts movement in the UK, and, through a series of essays, assesses its influence on present day participatory arts practices. Part I offers the first comprehensive account of the movement, its history, rationale and modes of working in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; Part II brings the work up to the present, through a scholarly assessment of its influence on contemporary practice that considers the role of technologies and networks, training, funding, commissioning and curating socially engaged art today. The community arts movement was a well-known but little understood and largely undocumented creative revolution that began as part of the counter-cultural scene in the late 1960s. A wide range of art forms were developed, including large processions with floats and giant puppets, shadow puppet shows, murals and public art, events on adventure playgrounds and play schemes, outdoor events and fireshows. By the middle of the 1980s community arts had changed and diversified to the point where its fragmentation meant that it could no longer be seen as a coherent movement. Interviews with the early pioneers provide a unique insight into the arts practices of the time. Culture, Democracy and the Right to Make Art is not simply a history because the legacy and influence of the community arts movement can be seen in a huge range of diverse locations today. Anyone who has ever encountered a community festival or educational project in a gallery or museum or visited a local arts centre could be said to be part of the on-going story of the community arts"-- Provided by publisher.

Names

  • Jeffers, Alison, 1961- editor

Created / Published

  • London ; New York : Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, an imprint if Bloomsburg Publishing Pic, 2017.

Contents

  • Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction, by Alison Jeffers (University of Manchester, UK) -- Part 1: The British Community Arts Movement 1968-1986 -- 1. Introduction by Alison Jeffers -- 2. Community Arts - a Forty Year Apprenticeship: A view from England, by Gerri Moriarty (artist) -- 3. Craigmillar Festival, the Scottish Community Arts Movement of the 1970s and 1980s and its impact: A view from Scotland, by Andrew Crummy (artist) -- 4. The Pioneers and the Welsh Community Arts Movement: A view from Wales, by Nick Clements (artist) -- 5. The Ground of Convinced action: A view from Northern Ireland, by Gerri Moriarty Part 2: Praxis and Pragmatism: The legacies of the Community Arts Movement -- 6. Introduction by Alison Jeffers -- 7. Memories, Dreams, Reflections: Community Arts as Cultural Policy: the 1970s, by Oliver Bennett (University of Warwick, UK) -- 8. Training and Education for Artists: The impact of ideas in the 1970s and 1980s on the training of artists today, by Mark Webster and Janet Hetherington (Staffordshire University, UK) -- 9. From Community Arts to the Socially Engaged Arts Commission, by Sophie Hope (Birkbeck, University of London, UK) -- 10. Cultural Democracy, Developing Technologies and Dividuality, by Owen Kelly (Arcada University, Finland) -- 11. Conclusion, by Alison Jeffers and Gerri Moriarty -- Endnotes -- Bibliography -- Notes on Contributors -- Index.

Headings

  • -  Community arts projects--Great Britain--History--20th century
  • -  Artists and community--Great Britain--History--20th century
  • -  PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / General
  • -  PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / History & Criticism

Notes

  • -  Includes bibliographical references and index.
  • -  Description based on print version record; resource not viewed.

Medium

  • 1 electronic resource (xiv, 263 pages)

Call Number/Physical Location

  • NX180.S6

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2020718042

Rights Advisory

Access Advisory

  • Unrestricted online access

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The books in this collection are licensed under open access licenses allowing for the reuse and distribution of each book following the terms described in each license. Researchers should consult the Rights Advisory statement for each title and the accompanying license details for information about rights and permissions associated with each of the licenses.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Jeffers, Alison, Editor. Culture, democracy and the right to make art: the British community arts movement. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, an imprint if Bloomsburg Publishing Pic, 2017. Pdf. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2020718042/.

APA citation style:

Jeffers, A. (2017) Culture, democracy and the right to make art: the British community arts movement. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, an imprint if Bloomsburg Publishing Pic. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2020718042/.

MLA citation style:

Jeffers, Alison, Editor. Culture, democracy and the right to make art: the British community arts movement. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, an imprint if Bloomsburg Publishing Pic, 2017. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/2020718042/>.