Let’s talk about excellence: A view from social arts practice

Excellence. Let’s talk about it.

Having worked in the field of collaborative and social arts practice - nationally and internationally - for more than 20 years, I’m well versed in the cyclical debates about community-based arts and excellence. 

Many artists and arts workers will be familiar with the assumptions and judgements made about this field where the burden of proof always seems to fall at our feet, no matter how much evidence is produced. ‘Excellence’ in all its ambiguity seems the value indicator most weaponised when art happens in ‘non-traditional’ locations.  

Are we experiencing such a crisis of imagination that we struggle to grasp the notion of communities and artists creating something of value outside traditional arts institutions? Surely, we should be celebrating and advocating for the boundless potential of art and creativity?

The case is never closed

Before I continue, I need to state unambiguously that I’m a visitor and advocate for dedicated arts spaces. Some of the most transformative experiences of my life have been in galleries and theatres. But I’ve had equally life-affirming encounters in parks, care homes, community centres and bingo halls. The context of the presentation often adds depth and dimension. 

Whether it be in a white cube or a shopping centre, if the artwork is created with care and integrity and presented in a dynamic and accessible way, then it has the potential to stop us in our tracks. 

So, case closed. ‘Excellence’ is not limited to a form of authorship, a type of experience or a presentation environment. I’m glad we cleared that up.

Except the case is never closed. The debate continues and expands and can take sinister detours. A quick internet search of national arts media coverage gives a sense of the temperature of the current debate. A debate which took a turn after the announcement of a public body review of Arts Council England. 

Excellence used to sow division

It has been disappointing to see community-based arts practices positioned as a threat to other art forms, while simultaneously being described as less than artistic. I can’t help but feel the defensiveness is about class and power. 

Artist working with a group of scientists = rigorous and innovative.

Artist working with a group of young mums = not real art but maybe a nice thing to do. 

The debate about community-based practices and excellence has always been about class and the knowledge and experience ‘dominant’ society values. 

This is something we address in our work at Heart of Glass, recognising the value of diverse experience and that knowledge lives everywhere. We all have the right to make meaning through arts and cultural practice. And we all have the right to benefit from public subsidy of that making. 

‘Excellence’ has been used to sow division within the arts and cultural sector, between different forms of artistic practice, and as a rationale to consider the function of an arts council.

Curiously it’s not artists or the public driving these debates; the two primary constituents of a body like Arts Council England. I’ve never heard an artist utter the word ‘excellence’ outside a funding application. 

Continues...

With for About 2023: Care and the Commons was Heart of Glass's 6th annual conference, Huyton, Merseyside. Photo: Radka Dolinska 

A remarkable statement of intent 

While the dust settles on a resounding election result, we will no doubt return to debates about the best way to utilise public subsidy to support a thriving arts sector. This time, let’s ensure artists and audiences frame the debate, not from the shadows but by centring the people we supposedly serve. 

Most artists I know are concerned with doing the work and recognise that creativity, collaboration and value exists in many different forms. Most audiences have enough common sense to realise that some things they’ll be moved by, and some things they won’t, and that art is subjective.

Artists are concerned about their working conditions and their ability to live with dignity. It is easier to make a living as an arts administrator than as an artist in the UK. As an Irish person, I look with envy across the Irish Sea at experiments in Universal Basic Income for artists. So, a key question for the new government has to be how can it create the conditions for a generation of artists with different backgrounds/perspectives to take risks and flourish?

ACE’s Let’s Create is not perfect, but it was created in consultation with the sector. It is a remarkable statement of intent and should be commended. Yes, it is imperfect. Yes, we are drowning in reporting. And yes, terms like excellence are unhelpful and, in the hands of vested interests, often weaponised to seize agendas. 

But as a principle, the idea that public subsidy should create space across the country for all communities and that a diversity of experience and artform should be supported to flourish is important - especially in our age of division. 

Art does not exist in isolation. It is in constant dialogue. We should nurture this potential. 

Let’s lead the conversation

Over the past decade at Heart of Glass, we’ve been lucky to exist at a time when artists, communities and organisations have moved the conversation from outdated tropes of high art v community art, process v product or excellence v social return. Arts Council England and other art funders have, to their credit, been part of this shift. 

Our approach has always been to work with people who, for various social and political reasons, do not have equal opportunity to access the arts. Creating space for an assembly of minds and movements through creative practices is what we understand by ambition and excellence. 

We are, of course, aware of the arts sector’s validation indicators. The sell-out show. The positive press review. The commitment of partners. The critical reception from trusted taste makers. The respect of peers. The technical execution. The academic think piece. The high-profile platform. The tacit cultural value. The list goes on. We are also aware of the cross-sector validation indicators. The social bond. The positive health outcome. The educational benefit. The ‘distraction’. The impact on placemaking. The economic return etc. 

The debate is not about whether collaborative and community-based practices have artistic value or are artistically excellent. As with any art form, collaborative art can be good, bad or indifferent. Values and attitudes differ. What it is about is the role of art and artists in civil society and what public subsidy should focus on. A healthy society is in critical discourse with itself. In a fragmented society, in the midst of a polycrisis, it is essential to have the means to gather, create and explore the human condition. Arts and culture, and arts and cultural subsidy should be for everyone. 

So, as the debate comes round again, I urge the sector to lead the conversation. Let’s not be distracted by false division but unite and advocate for a more progressive and connected approach to arts and cultural policy over the coming decades and deliver it together.

Patrick Fox is Chief Executive of Heart of Glass.
 heartofglass.org.uk/   
 @TheHeartofGlass | @PatrickFox01 
  heart-of-glass-st-helens-ltd/

This article, sponsored and contributed by Heart of Glass, is part of a series exploring how, by building deeper relationships with communities, the arts can create fairer futures and act as a positive force for change. 

PS: Things to consider:

• Listen to and support artists. We need them. 
• Support the improvement of our arts councils.
• Value diversity of practice, approach, voice and experience. 
• Consider equity in terms of cultural provision; access and opportunity for all. 
• Advocate for an enhanced role for art, artists and creativity in civil society. 
• Creativity is leadership, we can rebuild imagination by supporting it.  
• In these difficult times, we need spaces to be together, to hold different views, build shared understanding, heal and grieve. 
• Cultural education is vital. Fight for it. Our children are not robots. 
• Don’t waste energy on ‘staged’ arguments designed to further hidden agendas. 
• Be alert. 
• Excellence is a distraction. 
• Change is possible. 
• Let’s support art, artists and community.