Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides a unique insiders account of the work of Big hART, one of Australia’s leading participatory arts organisations. Founded on the values of social justice, creativity and transformation Big hART seeks to mobilise a range of community resources including young people, elders, artists, and community activists to produce high quality public performances of merit and social worth. Located in diverse geographic, social and cultural settings across Australia’s vast landscape, these creative works generate intergenerational understandings of the cultural processes of individual and collective transformation strengthening capabilities, identity, and connected belonging. This book documents a series of powerful stories that illuminate the ideological, artistic and cultural pathways and learnings gifted by the generosity of participants themselves.
Table of ContentsForeword François Matarasso Acknowledgements About the Authors 1 Introduction 1 Why This Book, and Why Now? 2 Key Organising Ideas and Purposes 3 Big hART 4 What Are the Key Themes Animating This Book? 5 Case Studies 6 What Kind of Research Informs This Book? 7 How This Book Is Organised 2 Big hART: Origins, Foundations and Making a Difference Scott Rankin 1 Beginnings 2 The First Projects 3 Million-Dollar Kids 4 Gaining Prime Ministerial Support: Martin Bryant and John Howard 5 What’s in a Name: Capturing the Essence of Big hART 6 The Role of Story 3 Relationships, Place and Wellbeing: Do I Matter? Where Do I Fit In? 1 Introduction 2 Productive Practices 3 Conclusion 4 Agency, Self-Efficacy, and Social Transformation: ‘Step by Step Changing My Life for the Better’ 1 Introduction 2 Agency 3 Attributes and Dimensions 4 Productive Conditions, Practices and Possibilities 5 Conclusion 5 Affective, Expressive and Meaningful Lives: Storytellers, Dancers, Performers 1 Introduction 2 The Arts as Signifiers and Enablers 3 Affordances and Constraints 4 Aesthetic Knowing 5 Productive Conditions, Practices and Possibilities 6 Conclusion 6 Work, Security and Citizenship: Transitioning into the Workforce 1 The Broader Context: Shifts in the Global Economy 2 Productive Practices 3 Conclusion 7 Capabilities and Informal Learning Spaces: Creating a ‘Life Project’ 1 Introduction 2 Productive Practices 3 Conclusion 8 Culture, Identity and ‘Becoming Somebody’: New Scripts and Possibilities 1 Introduction 2 Productive Practices 3 Conclusion 9 Culture, Arts, Justice and Activism: Lessons from the Field 1 Attributes and Dimensions 2 Evidence of Change 3 Domains of Change 4 Productive Conditions and Practices 5 Concluding Thoughts: Participatory Arts, Agency and Connected Belonging References Index
