Civic engagement — UnQualified

FIELDWORK BLOG

Shane Sugrue

This blog records the ongoing fieldwork portion of my research into participatory art, performance and public celebration as modes of political action fostering civic engagement. Considering cultural activities such as festivals, street parades, and large-scale art installations as forms of ritualised spatial practice, or theatre, this project uses the methods of architectural design to examine the material and spatial dimensions of these activities in order to determine the social and political role they might play. This work is carried out as part of the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) at the Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge.

Having been embedded within a community of artists, activists and community organisers in Brisbane over the last number of years, I have made the observation that participating in the production of grassroots cultural events is often a transformative experience for participants of diverse backgrounds, challenging their preconceptions of place, identity, and community, heightening their expectations of democratic participation and accountable governance, and empowering them to exercise creative agency. Drawing on my experience as both a participant and organiser of these events, my aim with this research is to develop a methodology for design practice that a) validates this observation, and b) can be repeated in new contexts. In order to do this, I have proposed to undertake a series of design experiments that seek to enact this type of transformative participation. A pilot study presented the first set of these tests – a series of paper design exercises through which I have developed a theoretical approach and a concept design proposal. The fieldwork period is taken as an opportunity to further develop these in a series of full-scale built and performed interventions in-situ. These will be undertaken in collaboration with arts practitioners and cultural organisations in Brisbane, and paired with detailed site and context analysis, in order to develop a schematic design proposal to be carried forward into the next phase of the project.

I met this morning with Pia Robinson, a visual artist, and Urban Designer with Brisbane City Council’s Public Art division. The discussion roamed far and wide: the challenges of promoting engagement around and through visual arts; equality of access to arts and culture and what that really means; the limitations of planning-led approaches to culture and the exciting possibilities of culture-led approaches to planning.

I talked through some of my ideas around the “infrastructures of ritual”, using the visual aid of drawings and images generated during the Pilot Study. The idea seems to offer fertile grounds for productive discussion. Pia gave me an overview of the various Council programmes she is involved with - the Outdoor Galleries, the Indigenous Art Programme, City of Lights, the River Art Framework, Curio-City, Botanica - and also explained the interface between the Public Art team and the Creative Communities team.

The Outdoor Galleries and associated laneway activations have been a particular focus over the past two years. We took a quick walk around some of the key locations: Burnett Lane, the King George Square carpark, Edward Street. Activations at each location are facilitated by an ‘infrastructural’ addition - light box galleries, glass vitrines, or street lighting for example - however, Pia made the point that the infrastructure alone was not enough to stimulate engagement on the part of the public or the average passer-by. She noted that the most engagement typically happens whenever there is some direct human contact or interaction as part of an artwork or activation - artist talks and public forums, walking tours, involvement in fabrication and making - in other words, shared participation.

Pia also noted the significance of access in determining the degree to which particular publics can engage with these kinds of activities - communities that are disadvantaged in terms of education, health, or financial security may not be able to readily access the city centre or the inner suburbs, where much of Council’s cultural activity is focused. Hence the dual importance of Council programmes aimed at outlying or marginalised suburbs, alongside improved and more affordable public transport options for those suburbs - a policy framework and an infrastructure to enable it.

It remains to be seen exactly what kind of engagement I will have with Council through the fieldwork - whether observation or participation. However, there is certainly some more fruitful discussion to come.