Arts in the Voluntary Sector - from the NICVA Policy Manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Feb 12 2007 under Arts, Policy Manifesto |
“Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientifi c advancement and its benefits.”
Article 27, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Voluntary and community arts are key components of social cohesion, particularly in rural areas; they challenge social exclusion and provide sustainable opportunities for all people to practise the arts and crafts themselves.
They deliver on the Arts Council’s aim of putting ‘Art at the Heart’ and government must recognise the dynamism and potential of arts activity within the voluntary and community sector to transform society in Northern Ireland.
Community arts is the expression of original artwork created and produced by people linked through neighbourhood or community of interest and combining signifi cant elements of access, participation, authorship and ownership. It is the collaboration between professional artists and communities where the community and artists are equal contributors. It engages with marginalised individuals and communities.
Voluntary arts are those arts and crafts that people undertake for self-improvement, social networking and leisure, but not primarily for payment. In Northern Ireland one in ten adults actively make or do art in art groups led by volunteers. These groups make up 23% of the voluntary sector and the 160,000 volunteers who run them account for a third of all volunteering.
Government and political parties should:
- Adopt an ‘Arts Proof’ policy across central and local government to include:
- Involving representatives of the arts in social, economic and environmental consultation and planning process.
- Actively promoting use of the ‘percentage for arts’ scheme.
- Consult on the potential arts use of all new publicly funded building/renovation projects.
- Move the level of arts funding closer to that in Britain and the Republic by:
- Establishing a genuine cross-party movement to raise public per capita spend on the arts to £9.00 by 2009.
- Actively protecting and promoting un-biased local authority funding for arts in the voluntary and community sector post RPA.
- Providing adequate and secure long-term funding to the voluntary and community arts infrastructure in order to provide networking, training and development.
- Make access a key priority by enabling people from new communities, isolated and marginalised groups to participate in and enjoy the arts by providing support to:
- Reduce physical, fi nancial and social barriers.
- Reduce attitudinal barriers, primarily through exposure.
- Develop access points to the sector including individual access.
- Ensure the sector is able to take its place at the table in informing government policy and delivering public services by:
- Ensuring consultation with the sector is proactive, timely and transparent.
- Ensuring the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and its Non-Departmental Public Bodies acknowledge and implement the Compact.
- Providing capacity development funding and training to enable arts groups to build partnerships with government agencies.
- Establishing and resourcing an arts researchers’ forum to support evidence based policy making and service delivery planning.
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