It's very exciting to announce the final artist commission in Ground UP's current programme of events. This is a public art commission, funded by Keepmoat. Read more about it on our Commissions and Opportunities page .We hope to commission this work in collaboration with residents, in the same way that we have worked in partnership with local people to commission the current two residencies.
Earlier today this collaborative shortlisting activity was referred to as our 'Community Consultation Day' and this led to some interesting reflection. From the outset, the Ground UP project set out to test the consultation process by recruiting three Creative Collaborators whose role has included working alongside communities and engaging local people in the commissioning process. The aspiration was that capacity could be built within the community to both know and understand high quality art and to develop the skill to commission it. This is 'collaboration' and is quite different from 'consultation'.
I tried to illustrate some of these ideas with another mind map which shows a ladder leading from 'consultation' to 'participation' and eventually to 'delegated power'. This is based on work by Sherry Arnstein who theorised community participation as a ladder. I have included the model from her original paper below. I have also included a great table developed by the International Centre for Public Participation which shows some of the goals, promises and techniques that can be used to encourage community participation and empowerment. The challenge for Ground UP is to keep the goals of collaboration in sight.
Steph 30.07.13
