Well its official, the Northern Irish arts community will have its very own hustings event on 19th April 2011 from 09.30am-12pm in the Grand Opera House, Belfast. Invited representatives from all the political parties will articulate their policies towards the arts and members of the arts community across Northern Ireland will get the chance to question and challenge those policies.
I'm sure its not the first arts hustings event in Northern Ireland but it certainly is not a regular occurance in the region and perhaps taking a leaf out of the National Campaign for the Arts in Ireland is the beginning of a more constructive dialogue between the sector and government.
There are many questions to raise with political parties in Northern Ireland not least "do you have a policy on the arts?" Questions around how the arts impacts on peoples' lives are also likely to take precedence - the contribution of the arts to a healthier civil society, to the economy, to wellbeing, to education, to the economy. Perhaps fundamental to this is how to place the arts within policy - its not a singularly definable subject, indeed its strength is in its diversity. This is often at odds with the way in which government in Northern Ireland is structured, however, how is that Health - itself a fantastically diverse range of disciplines commands such singular attention? There is perhaps something for the arts to learn in this?
Nevertheless the old-fashioned democratic values a hustings event has come to represent should be a natural catalyst for the many articulate people involved in the arts in Northern Ireland. It is true to say that a lot of the time now we are seeing these debates carried out online through social media, which is perhaps the up to date hustings. Very much to the vanguard and the potential for seismic change when it is wedded to citizens' core desires is certainly exciting as witnessed in places such as Egypt.
We could well need a seismic change in arts policy now - some would say it is long overdue. In a small way this live hustings could be the beginning - lots of small changes often add up.
To book your place at the event please contact karen.orawe@audiencesni.com or tel: 028 9043 6480.
For more Voluntary Arts Ireland news visit http://www.vaireland.org
Showing posts with label voluntary arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label voluntary arts. Show all posts
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Monday, 7 March 2011
Life is Organic
Its been a very interesting day attending first a breakfast meeting and then an all day session around creativity as part of Derry/Londonderry's Cracking the Code programme leading up to the 2013 City of Culture.
An impressive bank of speakers including Sir Ken Robinson and Phil Redmond were punctuated by some engaging local characters and idea generating sessions in smaller groups. On behalf of Voluntary Arts Ireland I played a strong part thinking about how participation in the arts and crafts stimulates creativity. However, I was struck most by a phrase that came from Ken Robinson's initial address - "life is organic not linear"
When we think of all of the structures and processes that seem to provide the framework for our activities on the ground - virtually none of them are organic - they are nearly all linear and top-down. And yet this is just the opposite of how we, as human beings, go about living and interacting with others.
Take the creative process, which was also talked about today. We get an idea or a kernel of an idea, we play with it, we refine it, we connect it to other ideas and sometimes it becomes something that we act upon - we create it. One of the key skills in this process is the suspension of critical judgement. I might also say that one of the key skills is critical judgement. However, we must be able to suspend it long enough for us to create a bank of possibilities that encourage us to take the kernel further.
Critical judgement seems to be at the heart of most of the structures and processes mentioned above - it is a fairly advanced form of compounded critical judgement that say creates the legal system, and the influence of critical judgement is very great throughout policy making.
But is this now to our best advantage? Is this focus the way in which we are going to create a wider bank of possibilities that we all now seem to be seeking? Life is clearly organic and critical judgement has a part to play but do we have the balance right?
Kevin Murphy
Chief Officer
Voluntary Arts Ireland
An impressive bank of speakers including Sir Ken Robinson and Phil Redmond were punctuated by some engaging local characters and idea generating sessions in smaller groups. On behalf of Voluntary Arts Ireland I played a strong part thinking about how participation in the arts and crafts stimulates creativity. However, I was struck most by a phrase that came from Ken Robinson's initial address - "life is organic not linear"
When we think of all of the structures and processes that seem to provide the framework for our activities on the ground - virtually none of them are organic - they are nearly all linear and top-down. And yet this is just the opposite of how we, as human beings, go about living and interacting with others.
Take the creative process, which was also talked about today. We get an idea or a kernel of an idea, we play with it, we refine it, we connect it to other ideas and sometimes it becomes something that we act upon - we create it. One of the key skills in this process is the suspension of critical judgement. I might also say that one of the key skills is critical judgement. However, we must be able to suspend it long enough for us to create a bank of possibilities that encourage us to take the kernel further.
Critical judgement seems to be at the heart of most of the structures and processes mentioned above - it is a fairly advanced form of compounded critical judgement that say creates the legal system, and the influence of critical judgement is very great throughout policy making.
But is this now to our best advantage? Is this focus the way in which we are going to create a wider bank of possibilities that we all now seem to be seeking? Life is clearly organic and critical judgement has a part to play but do we have the balance right?
Kevin Murphy
Chief Officer
Voluntary Arts Ireland
Monday, 28 February 2011
Big Community
Following the launch of the European Year of Volunteering in Ireland, Voluntary Arts Ireland along with partners the Gaelic Athletics Association, the Church of Ireland, City Church Belfast and the Department of Social Development took over the Long Gallery in Stormont, Belfast last Friday, 25th February 2011 to celebrate our joint volunteering project. Two years on the go the project highlights the impact that sports, arts and faith-based groups have in making communities better and bigger places
Big Community was the phrase that stood out to us all - volunteering makes communities bigger and across our society which is looking for a way to share the future, engaging people voluntarily through the various disciplines that make up the fabric of society seems crucial.
"Volunteering's not important - it's essential" said Robin Simpson, Chief Executive of Voluntary Arts. Sentiments echoed by Minister Alex Attwood MLA who talked about volunteering reflecting the best of society.
The contribution by keynote speaker Peter Jenkinson, OBE was provocative - encouraging us all to be "promiscuous" and to "make friends with strange people" - and highlighting the trend towards DIY/Open Source voluntary action that most recently has affected enormous positive change in Egypt.
The event was genuinely stimulating and threw up a number of challenges around how and what we measure as the benefits of volunteering. Rather than falling into the age old argument around how you measure the value of something that has a multitude of intangible benefits, there was a grown up discussion about focussing on outcomes and shifting our measuring mechanisms to accommodate the more intangible.
Another exciting thought was how the four partner organisations, coming from very different places could create a programme together and build on this very unusual connection. Perhaps taking up Peter Jenkinson's challenge of making friends with strange people is a potential starting point for many new innovations. As Einsein said - "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them"- perhaps we also need to shift our thinking by regularly going outside of our normal connections and relationships.
Perhaps also this is what a big community is - not necessarily big in size, but a big space, an accommodating space, a safe space for us to come in and out of, a space to be creative in.
Kevin Murphy
Big Community was the phrase that stood out to us all - volunteering makes communities bigger and across our society which is looking for a way to share the future, engaging people voluntarily through the various disciplines that make up the fabric of society seems crucial.
"Volunteering's not important - it's essential" said Robin Simpson, Chief Executive of Voluntary Arts. Sentiments echoed by Minister Alex Attwood MLA who talked about volunteering reflecting the best of society.
The contribution by keynote speaker Peter Jenkinson, OBE was provocative - encouraging us all to be "promiscuous" and to "make friends with strange people" - and highlighting the trend towards DIY/Open Source voluntary action that most recently has affected enormous positive change in Egypt.
The event was genuinely stimulating and threw up a number of challenges around how and what we measure as the benefits of volunteering. Rather than falling into the age old argument around how you measure the value of something that has a multitude of intangible benefits, there was a grown up discussion about focussing on outcomes and shifting our measuring mechanisms to accommodate the more intangible.
Another exciting thought was how the four partner organisations, coming from very different places could create a programme together and build on this very unusual connection. Perhaps taking up Peter Jenkinson's challenge of making friends with strange people is a potential starting point for many new innovations. As Einsein said - "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them"- perhaps we also need to shift our thinking by regularly going outside of our normal connections and relationships.
Perhaps also this is what a big community is - not necessarily big in size, but a big space, an accommodating space, a safe space for us to come in and out of, a space to be creative in.
In the best democratic traditions we also voted on a number of questions at the celebration in Stormont - not sure if the results were particularly surprising but the questions did force us to think - never a bad thing. To check out how we voted visit http://bit.ly/hLnn6q.
Kevin Murphy
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Big Ideas, Small Organisations
The recent Boardmatch event on 26 January 2011 in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin brought together a wide range of Chairs and Chief Executives from the not-for-profit sector. The focus for getting together was to learn from the experience of England in setting up a regulatory framework for charities - something that is imminent in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The event also advanced the benefits of networking to look at how organisations can work together to achieve common aims.
The charity information and learning came from guest speaker Andrew Hinds, former CEO of the Charity Commission in England and the networking was helped along by a fine lunch and some gentle lubrication. Hats off to Chris White and his team at Boardmatch - a very well run and interesting afternoon against the backdrop of a spectacular pitch. There was, I felt genuine consensus on the need to work together and there was a sense also that it may be a key means to grow through the current funding climate.
So how do we encourage this spirit of working together and how do we put in place ways of working that allow organisations of varying sizes and needs to be effective together?
One thought that occurs to me is that we have to have big ideas - ideas that are bigger than the capacity of any one organisation require people to work together. This is, generally speaking, counter intuitive for organisations. Whatever our capacity it usually is best to work within our means. However, what if our means don't fit?
Another thought is that focussing on outcomes - i.e. what is best for the communities we serve - helps us to keep working to our vision of the future rather than how to maintain our current organisational structures. That way too we can notice others who are working towards common aims.
Another running theme throughout the Boardmatch event was that the level of public trust for the charitable and not-for-profit sector was still high in relation to other parts of society (e.g. political, financial, civil service) and that we should seek to protect and enhance that reputation.
Trust is surely another key element. Trust is essential for people and organisations to work together, it is essential to learning, to providing services, to negotiating contracts, to allowing people to make mistakes and fail before succeeding.
As Society became more and more centred around huge urban centres which necessitated larger and larger organisations to help manage those centres, trust, which tends to blossom in smaller settings was replaced by heavier and heavier regulation.
Andrew Hinds made it clear that in his experience a "light touch" regulatory framework was essential for dealing with the charitable sector which is made up of a few very large charities and a plethora of small and very small charities.
At Voluntary Arts Ireland we can recognise the same dynamic in the voluntary arts sector - 1000's of small organisations linked by a common set of values. If we demand a certain level of governance structure of small organisations we may find ourselves putting up obstacles. In our drive to improve standards we may set many things back. Flexible structures and adjustments for scale are going to be needed and they are perhaps the most difficult to write into legislation.
We must also fight against the urge to consolidate, to fall back on type and in the drive for efficiency attempt to make logical sense of sectors that thrive on being a diverse network. Big consolidated organisations although needed in some instances, don't tend to encourage trust or partnership working.
One very interesting model that was featured at the Boardmatch event was the Credit Union movement. Kieron Brennan from the league of Credit Unions spoke very eloquently about how a network of mainly small membership organisations have provided a viable and trustworthy alternative to banks for savers and borrowers. From a standing start in 1960 in Ireland there are now over 500 credit unions serving 2.9 million members with savings approaching €11.9 billion. There are over 9,200 active volunteers involved in the movement, and over 3,500 people are employed. They played no part in the recent financial meltdown and one would have thought are poised to form a strong part of a more ethical financial system.
The Credit Union movement is a great example of what can be done. Big ideas and small organisations - not a bad mantra.
Kevin Murphy
The charity information and learning came from guest speaker Andrew Hinds, former CEO of the Charity Commission in England and the networking was helped along by a fine lunch and some gentle lubrication. Hats off to Chris White and his team at Boardmatch - a very well run and interesting afternoon against the backdrop of a spectacular pitch. There was, I felt genuine consensus on the need to work together and there was a sense also that it may be a key means to grow through the current funding climate.
So how do we encourage this spirit of working together and how do we put in place ways of working that allow organisations of varying sizes and needs to be effective together?
One thought that occurs to me is that we have to have big ideas - ideas that are bigger than the capacity of any one organisation require people to work together. This is, generally speaking, counter intuitive for organisations. Whatever our capacity it usually is best to work within our means. However, what if our means don't fit?
Another thought is that focussing on outcomes - i.e. what is best for the communities we serve - helps us to keep working to our vision of the future rather than how to maintain our current organisational structures. That way too we can notice others who are working towards common aims.
Another running theme throughout the Boardmatch event was that the level of public trust for the charitable and not-for-profit sector was still high in relation to other parts of society (e.g. political, financial, civil service) and that we should seek to protect and enhance that reputation.
Trust is surely another key element. Trust is essential for people and organisations to work together, it is essential to learning, to providing services, to negotiating contracts, to allowing people to make mistakes and fail before succeeding.
As Society became more and more centred around huge urban centres which necessitated larger and larger organisations to help manage those centres, trust, which tends to blossom in smaller settings was replaced by heavier and heavier regulation.
Andrew Hinds made it clear that in his experience a "light touch" regulatory framework was essential for dealing with the charitable sector which is made up of a few very large charities and a plethora of small and very small charities.
At Voluntary Arts Ireland we can recognise the same dynamic in the voluntary arts sector - 1000's of small organisations linked by a common set of values. If we demand a certain level of governance structure of small organisations we may find ourselves putting up obstacles. In our drive to improve standards we may set many things back. Flexible structures and adjustments for scale are going to be needed and they are perhaps the most difficult to write into legislation.
We must also fight against the urge to consolidate, to fall back on type and in the drive for efficiency attempt to make logical sense of sectors that thrive on being a diverse network. Big consolidated organisations although needed in some instances, don't tend to encourage trust or partnership working.
One very interesting model that was featured at the Boardmatch event was the Credit Union movement. Kieron Brennan from the league of Credit Unions spoke very eloquently about how a network of mainly small membership organisations have provided a viable and trustworthy alternative to banks for savers and borrowers. From a standing start in 1960 in Ireland there are now over 500 credit unions serving 2.9 million members with savings approaching €11.9 billion. There are over 9,200 active volunteers involved in the movement, and over 3,500 people are employed. They played no part in the recent financial meltdown and one would have thought are poised to form a strong part of a more ethical financial system.
The Credit Union movement is a great example of what can be done. Big ideas and small organisations - not a bad mantra.
Kevin Murphy
Monday, 16 August 2010
Just Say Yes!
It seems odd to be writing this with my Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 pen, (yes, I may be a young person growing up in a technological era, but I always write everything out before I type it!) given that until a year ago, I had never visited the city before.
This first visit, which formed part of my work experience with Voluntary Arts Ireland, saw me at the Nerve Centre, meeting with and interviewing some of their lovely staff members. One year later, with the judging committee having said “YES” to Derry-Londonderry being the first UK City of Culture in 2013, I met with Giorgia Gazzerra to discuss the possibility of the Young Arts Creativity Co-ops working on a joint programme with Reach Across and the Friendship Club, 2 groups based in the city with which Giorgia is involved. We came away with lots of great ideas to bring back to our groups, some of which will hopefully materialise in the not-too-distant future.
Spending some time in the city and the meeting with Giorgia left me thinking about just how much can stem from one simple word, “Yes”. So often, young people are met with “No” responses, but at some point, some years ago, Voluntary Arts Ireland said “yes” to the need to develop a youth-led, youth-centred model for the arts in Northern Ireland. Numerous “yes” declarations since have allowed this to become a reality; for many young people to not only access, but engage in and facilitate arts activities and to have a voice within the youth/arts sectors, as well as gaining new skills while developing old ones, having opportunities for new experiences, meeting new people, visiting new places, (such as an art gallery!) receiving help in relation to their future careers, having fun and doing what they want to do, in their own way that works for them!
Just as the City of Culture 2013 title will undoubtedly be invaluable to Derry-Londonderry, so too, has the YACC project and the continued courage to say “yes” been invaluable to the young people involved.
Back in July 2008, I said “yes” to attending a ‘Create Your Place’ event at Lusty Beg Island with Pauline and two other YACC members, at which we had the opportunity to meet and have important conversations with a wide variety of interesting people. Over a year later, I didn’t hesitate to say “yes” to attending a follow-up event in Donegal which once again consisted of interesting people, (both some who had attended the previous event and some new faces) discussions and arts activities, all in beautiful surroundings. One of those new faces was Giorgia Gazzera. The fact that both Giorgia and I said “yes” to our involvement in ‘Create Your Place’ has led to our continued contact, our meeting last week and following a few more “yeses”, it will hopefully have led to not only a joint project between YACC, Reach Across and the Friendship Club, (among other groups who may be interested) but new friendships, new art work, sustained relations between the groups and ideally, the beginnings of a truly youth-centred, youth-led arts network.
So, “Just Say Yes”?
This first visit, which formed part of my work experience with Voluntary Arts Ireland, saw me at the Nerve Centre, meeting with and interviewing some of their lovely staff members. One year later, with the judging committee having said “YES” to Derry-Londonderry being the first UK City of Culture in 2013, I met with Giorgia Gazzerra to discuss the possibility of the Young Arts Creativity Co-ops working on a joint programme with Reach Across and the Friendship Club, 2 groups based in the city with which Giorgia is involved. We came away with lots of great ideas to bring back to our groups, some of which will hopefully materialise in the not-too-distant future.
Spending some time in the city and the meeting with Giorgia left me thinking about just how much can stem from one simple word, “Yes”. So often, young people are met with “No” responses, but at some point, some years ago, Voluntary Arts Ireland said “yes” to the need to develop a youth-led, youth-centred model for the arts in Northern Ireland. Numerous “yes” declarations since have allowed this to become a reality; for many young people to not only access, but engage in and facilitate arts activities and to have a voice within the youth/arts sectors, as well as gaining new skills while developing old ones, having opportunities for new experiences, meeting new people, visiting new places, (such as an art gallery!) receiving help in relation to their future careers, having fun and doing what they want to do, in their own way that works for them!
Just as the City of Culture 2013 title will undoubtedly be invaluable to Derry-Londonderry, so too, has the YACC project and the continued courage to say “yes” been invaluable to the young people involved.
Back in July 2008, I said “yes” to attending a ‘Create Your Place’ event at Lusty Beg Island with Pauline and two other YACC members, at which we had the opportunity to meet and have important conversations with a wide variety of interesting people. Over a year later, I didn’t hesitate to say “yes” to attending a follow-up event in Donegal which once again consisted of interesting people, (both some who had attended the previous event and some new faces) discussions and arts activities, all in beautiful surroundings. One of those new faces was Giorgia Gazzera. The fact that both Giorgia and I said “yes” to our involvement in ‘Create Your Place’ has led to our continued contact, our meeting last week and following a few more “yeses”, it will hopefully have led to not only a joint project between YACC, Reach Across and the Friendship Club, (among other groups who may be interested) but new friendships, new art work, sustained relations between the groups and ideally, the beginnings of a truly youth-centred, youth-led arts network.
So, “Just Say Yes”?
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Don't be an elephant
It's always an interesting prospect working with young people especially in the arts. At the moment there is a growing momentum to involve more young people in decisions that affect their areas of interest and to give them platforms through which they can express themselves.
This is great but the most difficult thing seems to be getting the adults in the room to remain quiet enough for long enough to allow a young persons idea to be articulated. We spend a lot of time talking about the elephants in the room (such a popular phrase) but as adults sometimes forget that we are the elephants.
Not a very attractive image and indeed we must come across as very heavy handed. What must they be thinking, our young people? Mostly "get out of the way" I would think. And yet at all of the meetings and events I have recently attended through Voluntary Arts Ireland's youth-led project which helps set up sustainable voluntary arts groups created by young people for young people, its the young people who have been the best listeners, the most positive influencers and the most creative.
What is crucial though, and this is where the adult elephants can come in, is a facilitated environment that enables young people to participate fully. Our role as adults is to provide a starting framework and support along the way, to provide help when asked from our long memories of the pitfalls and to celebrate the work of young people.
Maybe it requires us to get excited by the "anything is possible" attitude that our young people display so readily. We are looking for new solutions to old problems. As Einstein said: "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."Maybe its time we used our big elephant ears and listened to young people a bit more.
This is great but the most difficult thing seems to be getting the adults in the room to remain quiet enough for long enough to allow a young persons idea to be articulated. We spend a lot of time talking about the elephants in the room (such a popular phrase) but as adults sometimes forget that we are the elephants.
Not a very attractive image and indeed we must come across as very heavy handed. What must they be thinking, our young people? Mostly "get out of the way" I would think. And yet at all of the meetings and events I have recently attended through Voluntary Arts Ireland's youth-led project which helps set up sustainable voluntary arts groups created by young people for young people, its the young people who have been the best listeners, the most positive influencers and the most creative.
What is crucial though, and this is where the adult elephants can come in, is a facilitated environment that enables young people to participate fully. Our role as adults is to provide a starting framework and support along the way, to provide help when asked from our long memories of the pitfalls and to celebrate the work of young people.
Maybe it requires us to get excited by the "anything is possible" attitude that our young people display so readily. We are looking for new solutions to old problems. As Einstein said: "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."Maybe its time we used our big elephant ears and listened to young people a bit more.
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