Cultural Rights and Agency of Communities

(1) Action: FROM CULTURAL RIGHTS TO CULTURAL AGENCY OF MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES Idea: To start a journey towards 2016 and beyond. We‟re asking you to form a small assembly (e.g. a community group, artist, activist, or cultural institution) in each Province; people who want to think about new ways of co-operating and cocreating. Blue Drum and others (e.g. Equality and Rights Alliance, Claiming Our Future, CAP, etc) will work with you to reset how community arts can transform the hidden lives of vulnerable people and communities that neither participate in the arts nor in society. Our vision is art and culture as a precious resource for the life on the island of Ireland far into the future.

Community Culture Proposal 2015

2016

2017-18

Assemble a self managed group (e.g. community group, artist/activist, cultural institution, etc) working for cultural rights and agency

Performing the Story

4 Provinces Munster

Ulster

Connacht

Leinster

Here are a set of draft actions: •

Register founding province and national level membership by end of year;

•

Meet in January 2015 (logistics by Blue Drum)

•

Programme small synchronised arts actions as part of Rebirth Day focused on a the Cultural Rights and Agency of Community Culture (Dec 23, 2014/5/6)

•

Build momentum towards Irish government‟s UN appearance in 2015

•

Contribute to Blue Drum‟s plan for a 10 day activist/artist public action in 2016 to be facilitated by the Italian art collective artway of thinking and Love Difference. [part funded by the Evans Foundation]

Blue Drum the Equality and Rights Alliance [d r a f t ] 'Cultural Rights' Sept 29, 2014 Dublin Castle Printworks These records were compiled by Ceara Conway (Connnacht), Conor Shields (Ulster), Eleanor Phillips (Leinster) and Rachel Mullen (Leinster) Questions • What do we mean by culture and rights in terms of community?

• Can cultural rights help us to re-frame / re-define our work?

• How can we cooperate over the next 18 months with a longer term ambition?

Connacht: Question 1 -Community is a verb , not a noun. The language of community needs to be re accessed.

-That we don't even really know what community means any more and that within a social context it‟s a term that gets thrown around without any newly developed understanding of its meaning.

-Non homogenic , community is diverse and often conflicted.

-Ability to be critical of others cultures.

-Conflict is at the core of cultural rights and this needs to be addresses/space made for it.

-The word community is used as shorthand for people we don't want to deal with but have to.

-Its important for communities/people to decide what they want or don‟t want but this is also not a reason/excuse to dumb down possibilities or artists skillsvisions/ways of engaging.

Question 2 -Educating and informing the public as to what social/public engaging arts is, challenging the traditional mainstream view of what an artist is, what culture is and who produces it.

-The quality of the invitation is vital as is the duration.

-Like any creative process it needs its due time, gestation, development, reflection etc -Wasting time with people without the pressure to perform or produce.

-Capacity to be really present -Challenging dominant institutions ideas of ''art' or culture production.

-Challenging the idea that it is artists who create culture.

-Creating a media campaign via TG4 that questions, explores, enlightens, begins a dialogue -People have the right to be surrounded by a specific level of aesthetic, beauty, for example, it‟s not right that a percentage of communities live in horrible poverty stricken places that have no ''cultural'' aesthetic planning or consideration.

Question 3 -Creating space to say no, dissent.

-Linking ones own current practice to the broader aims, ideas of cultural rights.

-Starting a dialogue with local groups and keeping in contact with larger steering group, vision.

-Having National events to work towards, contribute to -Informing oneself more -Looking at how granting ''cultural rights'' can be viewed as a loss to the system ( for example, the Traveller Community wishing to be acknowledged as an ethnic culture within Ireland, how this is seen as a threat economically).

-Dave pointed out that people neglect to see that when other people's rights are recognised that in turn it means so too will our own be.

Leinster Question 1 -A sense of belonging; beliefs; Identity as a right -A person belongs to more than one community -Respect each other; to respect, understand and acknowledge -Culture could be used as a means to progress needs -Part of expressing your culture includes expressing dissent -Culture is very obvious in Media – same voices; same class Question 2 -Challenge to explore social economy in community art and cultural entrepreneurship so that new trade routes are found for artists and activist -Potential to use cultural rights to highlight the lack of real participation by groups who are excluded from the arts, heritage and society -Whose culture do we foreground – official or community culture?

-Who will have the right to commemorate 1916?

Opportunity to re-negotiate our culture?

-We have a responsibility to challenge -The cultural right to challenge representation including ethics, language, ways of being -The ability to be critical of our own cultures -The tension between institution and community art -But community art can have a “missionary zeal” -Find ways to not turn people off when you use „culture‟ What are the different ways to organise?

-It‟s very difficult to get people to talk across lines/to cross-fertilise -It requires a lot of energy -How do we get artists, students married with activists?

-Communications is a huge part of the problem

-We don‟t get to tell each other our stories unmediated -More Risk Taking -Gay Rights/culture has transformed us because it‟s about the story/hearts & minds/ relationships – It‟s no longer the other.

Question 3 -Can cultural rights be a concept by which we can build co-operation?

-How would you articulate that?

-I can‟t talk about culture when I have so many other crisis -Is culture a basic need? – Yes! -Who‟s going to articulate that?

-How do we say no to corporate Ireland -Spectacle of Defiance – good at using culture as a tool -What is needed is something BIG! An event that has effectiveness -Going to support each other‟s little events doesn‟t work and it is too much extra work -People don‟t join dots/cross lines -Communication has been superficial – it needs to incorporate action -To build solidarity – how do we immerse ourselves/find common cause?

-If you are helping someone /Is it something we are doing – is this already culture – is it because we never thought of it that way before?

What can we do now?

-Mistake to have 15 mins for the most important part – Not Enough Time!

-Can we have some workshops bring 4/5 organisations together which can find common ground e.g. 3 groups North Dublin; 3 Groups South Dublin with the purpose of coming up with a common idea and to “practice” working together/ Making something together -Throw a few artists into the mix too -Creativity must be a part of it.

-Let‟s dovetail it into 1916 Commemorations & the Somme -Revist Bunracht na hEireann – What Rights Now -Could Blue Drum gather a list and be the link-up for everyone/all those who are doing the workshops.

Ulster Question 1 -Culture is about identity, tradition and history.

-Culture can also be what divides us.

-Community culture as a term may not be helpful in the North and could be divisive.

-Recall Mark Twain‟s comment: when I hear the word culture I reach for my gun!

-Part of expressing your culture includes expressing dissent Question 2 -Need to inform ourselves with the language and concept of cultural rights.

-Find a way to initiate local dialogues and conversations -Who is responsible for culture?

-Who will have the right to commemorate our own history?

-Who will have the right to commemorate 1916?

Question 3

-Need for small groups who can act like Knitting Club or Butterflys or Hac-tivists where hackers are people who bring out the invisibility of non participation in the systems of cultural provision.

-Opportunity to re-negotiate our culture?

-We have a responsibility to challenge official culture.

-The challenge of finding a language to speak of cultural right.

-The ability to be critical of our own cultures.

Munster – sorry still awaiting notes from Munster but will insert and circulate soon!