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I have been working on A Selfless Art for three years, thinking, reading and writing. I have been turning in circles for three years, starting, stopping, starting again. I understood why when I read these words by Stephen Nachmanovitch: The muse proposes,… more ›
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Some years ago, I began to imagine my role in co-creation work as similar to that of a mountain guide. Even on the same paths, the same peaks and passes, each journey is unique, defined by the season, the weather… more ›
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In 1997, I published a study of the social impact of participation in the arts that I called Use or Ornament? It was written for my peers working in community and participatory art, and came as much from my own experience in… more ›
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The similarities between the work of a teacher and a community artist have been evident to me from my earliest days in the field. There are differences, of course, most importantly perhaps the intellectual and institutional frameworks within which teachers… more ›
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Happiness is often misunderstood and therefore undervalued. Following Matthieu Ricard and other Buddhist writers, I have come to see it not as a passing elation dependent on external events but an inner state developed through skill and practice. This happiness… more ›
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Evolution is co-created: when one species develops better defences its predator must adapt to counter them or find another source of food. Cultures are co-created in the continual interactions of people seeking to define their shared and particular beliefs. Societies… more ›
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Last month, I mentioned the practice, developed by AA and Al-Anon of listening without comment to what others say about their experience. It wasn’t something I knew about at first hand, so I quoted Amy Liptrot’s account from her book,… more ›