Bringing light in the darkness

This summer the UK faced the worst racist violence in a generation, with far-right disorder spilling out across more than 35 towns and cities. But as the government prepares its response to the causes of unrest, the creative arts can offer important antidotes, helping communities bridge social divides and knit stronger connections.

We tend to view flashpoints like riots as crises, but the scenes that unfolded over the summer might better be compared to a slow-moving car crash. While tensions came to a head with deplorable far-right violence, these symptoms of polarisation reflected a much deeper and longer-term fraying of social cohesion.

Preventing future riots must recognise their long-term causes

An increasingly online society is now much more exposed and vulnerable to misinformation. Yet importantly, we are also becoming more atomised and isolated from one another, with fewer real-world spaces to meet and mix.

Pubs, clubs and community centres have seen worrying rates of closures over the past fifteen years. As a result, the majority of the areas that witnessed unrest also suffered from a paucity of community spaces and activities.

It is amid these conditions that society offers fewer opportunities for us to connect across our differences, understand one another’s lives and find common ground. Yet as these moments for coming together grow scarcer, the institutions with strongest social reach become more important. And here the creative arts have some powerful potential to remedy social divides.

In a nation of creative artists, creativity brings people together

New ‘Creating Connections’ research by British Future and the Social Purpose Lab at the University of Arts London finds that a majority (53%) of us in Britain take part in at least some creative arts activity each year, while there is even wider untapped interest – among 80% of the public – to get more involved.

This creative spirit is strong across people of different ages, ethnic backgrounds and political opinions. And, of those already taking part, our opinion polling finds that around half reported meeting and connecting with someone from a different background to their own.

Our new report explores how the arts can be harnessed to help foster these new connections and build resilience to hateful prejudice. Speaking to arts organisations and facilitators, a golden thread running through our discussions was that the creative arts provided joyful moments for coming together.

Creativity offers a fun and less daunting opportunity for people to come out of their shells, often to produce performances, murals or other masterpieces that add colour and beauty to their local area.

Many of the organisations we spoke to were leading innovative activities that could tap into this joy, to create spaces for people across all walks of life to come together and feel welcome. As we interviewed residents taking part, older participants spoke of making friends and reducing their isolation.

Young people often shared experiences finding new confidence and learning skills. And refugees and migrants often spoke fondly of the arts as a comfortable space to connect into a new community and practice English.

Across groups of all backgrounds, the arts were felt to enable a space for healthy expression, where people could creatively explore their different identities and cultures, but also share common hopes, fears and celebrations of their local place.

Building trust is a long-term investment well-spent

Artists involved in setting up these projects stressed that trust and interest did not blossom overnight. Proactive relationship-building, across communities that are polarised or segregated, had been key – gently welcoming people of all classes and cultures, and actively involving residents in the design of activities that appeal to them.

Where this had been nurtured, the stories of new friendships often spoke for themselves. As one British-Bangladeshi woman from a group in Birmingham explained:

“I do think for people of colour and white people, there are barriers between us. But in these community [arts] spaces, those barriers come down and you get to know someone for who they are. I think that human self comes out.

Let’s face reality, we can all be in our own bubble. And when we come to these spaces, it’s a neutral ground. You can just be friendly and talk and listen and joke around – you know, learn from each other.”

Community arts also often helped increase shared feelings of local pride among those involved, helping their towns and cities feel like a place where everyone could belong. Participants took pride in sharing their artworks and performances in their community.

One group in Bradford, for example, created lanterns to exhibit at an annual parade in their local park with music and fireworks, an event that attracts hundreds. This small, repeated tradition of bringing light in the darkness was felt to speak across cultures and, over time, participation had snowballed.

Lessons for government

As with much of the arts sector, this powerful community work is under pressure. Organisations were struggling to stay afloat after years of deep, long-term cuts in government arts funding.

Yet policymakers would do well to consider the impact of these creative moments for common joy, particularly as the government draws up its proposed plans for a long-term response to the riots.

There will be no single silver bullet for tackling our creeping polarisation and fostering social cohesion. Yet arts can have an impactful, often under-acknowledged role in building local expressions of a more hopeful, connected future.

Investing in grassroots, placemaking arts would mark an important step in redressing the erosion of community spaces – widening opportunities for common ground and coming together.

Creating Connections is a research project by British Future, funded by the Social Purpose Lab at University of the Arts London. The ‘Creating Connections’ report, featuring new attitudes research, case studies and policy proposals, can be downloaded here.