A Selfless Art

There’s a corridor in my house where I keep books I don’t use regularly, books about art, culture and community. I went to look for something today (a book by Tim Ingold, which I didn’t find) and as I searched I was struck by just how much has been written about this world of community art. A rough estimate – six shelves with about 40 books on each – suggests that I have at least 250 of those books, some by people I have met. Many are very good, and I wish I’d found time to read more of them, more carefully.

Does this rich body of writing represent success, in bringing the once-marginalised world of participatory art into a more respectable position in intellectual life? Or is it rather a sign of failure, that so much has been written but so little understood?

Perhaps it’s just that participatory art has indeed come in from the margins but in ways and on terms that, in my belief, are at odds with its true meaning and values. That is what drives my search for a better expression of the concepts, ethics and politics of co-creation, and the practice that follows. It involves practical work, conversation, thinking aloud as I do here, and writing. I hope it will all combine in a useful book, but I fear that A Selfless Art might just be another book on my over-filled shelves, speaking only to those who already share its values. That’s not a bad thing—we all need encouragement—but it might do little to bring about the change I hope for.