Arts in the Voluntary and Community Sector

“Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.”

Article 27, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Community arts is a process of expression, validation and recognition of experience to create art of personal excellence. It subscribes to the twin pillars of excellence in both process and product. Community arts is also a tool for addressing issues of concern or need and helping to develop social action initiatives and community regeneration processes.

Voluntary arts and crafts are those undertaken for self improvement, social networking and fun by people in volunteer-led groups throughout Northern Ireland. The voluntary arts are a key component 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.

Arts and creative activity cut across all areas of life, encompassing young and old, marginalised and wealthy, impacting on health, education and employment. Government must recognise the dynamism and potential of arts activity within the voluntary and community sector to transform society in Northern Ireland through the following actions:

• The process begun by Unlocking Creativityhas focused largely upon economic outputs and should be rolled out more fully to address arts and creativity within education, health and social contexts. A working group should be established to engage with the voluntary and community arts sector in this process.
• There should be increased resources for DCAL (Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure) and increased efficiency within the department should be considered through a restructuring process, which must include a mechanism for consulting with the voluntary and community sector.
• DCAL should implement the commitment given in Partners for Change in 2001 to host an annual forum of voluntary and community sector groups.
• DCAL and other arts researchers in the statutory sector should establish a mechanism to share information with other researchers in the area of arts and creativity to maximise research potential.
• Within twelve months the Face to Face working group on universal accessibility should bring forward concrete proposals on addressing barriers to participation and increasing accessibility. Such working groups should also be reviewed to ensure they include representation of voluntary and community arts at regional and grassroots levels.
• Each district council should have an arts policy and a dedicated Arts Officer to monitor and develop arts activity within the voluntary and community sector in their area. The policy should be developed in conjunction with the existing voluntary and community arts organisations.
• One person within every Department should be given lead responsibility for liaison on matters relating to arts and creative activity. This approach should also apply to other non-departmental public bodies and agencies, particularly the new Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
• There should be a ring-fenced budget within each department to engage creatively with communities and to support the use of arts and creative activity in pursuit of its objectives.
• Voluntary and community arts need a strong infrastructure which requires that their resource agencies receive adequate and secure long-term funding in order to provide connectivity, training and development.