Introduction as audio:

Introduction:

In 2023, the Centre for Cultural Value awarded Fun Palaces and Dr Katy Pilcher a grant from the Collaborate Fund to explore the radical potential that cultural participation might unlock wider civic activism.

This exhibition is the culmination of our project. Our key research question was:

To what extent can finding your creative voice (through community organising/Fun Palaces) unlock your wider civic activist voice, and if not, what might be the potential barriers or social inequalities preventing this from happening?

If you come together with your community to be creative, are you in a better position to rally against inequality, solve the issue of the bins not being collected often enough, or push your local council to address the lack of services in your area?

Our answer is yes! But with some caveats! In particular, the project has uncovered specific barriers and social inequalities that might prevent people from taking part in creative activities in their communities in the first place, and that might prevent wider civic activism being unlocked where people are engaging creatively with their community.

Katy has been talking to Fun Palaces Makers about their experiences of making Fun Palaces. Through individual interviews and two group storytelling workshops, Katy invited Fun Palace Makers to bring with them items that represent their involvement in a Fun Palace (e.g. something they made at a Fun Palace, a photograph, something that conveys the atmosphere of the day, or something else!), and/or something related to their wider civic activism/community activities/activism.

This sensory-object elicitation has facilitated some fascinating discussions about how talking while showing something or ‘doing something’ with your hands can break down communication barriers and opens different conversations. It has also led to discussions around the significance of creative activism on people’s lives, as well as the barriers to cultural participation and activism. Research participants have shared powerful stories about the impacts of, and their experiences of navigating, racism, class inequality, gendered inequalities, and ableism, and the barriers these pose to creative and cultural activation.