Co-creation is

A Selfless Art

This site follows the evolution of a book that develops and rebalances my last, A Restless Art . Its concern is the practice of co-creation, as I have known it. A Selfless Art complements and completes its brother, yin to its yang, moon to its sun, dark to its light. Subjective, imperfect and incomplete, it is personal, final and open-ended; it might never be finished or published.

François Matarasso, August 2026

  • Zadie Smith on perfectibility

    ‘I am a citizen as well as an individual soul and one of the things citizenship teaches us, over the long stretch, is that there is no perfectibility in human affairs.’ Smith, Z. 2018. Feel Free: Essays, Penguin Books  All co-creation… more ›

  • Jay Griffiths on art and healing

    ‘Art comprehends us – it is through language that we are understood – and poetry, above all, steps into the heart and saturates it with understanding. Whenever I read poetry which has this kind of knowledge, I know that I… more ›

  • Pierre Le Coz on medical ethics

    ‘To highlight the ethical component of their reflection process, participants can methodically organise their deliberations by referring to four internationally recognised standards of biomedical ethics: respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. These key principles set ethical guidelines for the… more ›

  • Simone Weil on attention

    ‘L’attention est la forme la plus rare et la plus pure de la générosité. (Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.)’ In a letter to Joë Bousquet, 13 April 1942, published in their Correspondance, Lausanne: Editions l’Age d’Homme, 1982, p.… more ›

  • Robert M. Pirsig on uncertainty

    ‘And I’m sure that in any creative project you really can’t perceive what the end is going to be, unless it is a very small thing you’re doing.’ Robert M. Pirsig, 2022, On Quality, p. 11 more ›

  • T. H. White on learning

    ‘The best thing for being sad,’ replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, ‘is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night… more ›

  • Saviour or companion?

    For the current episode of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene and I spoke to Griselda Goldsborough about her practice of making and sharing art in hospitals. It’s a conversation full of ideas, enthusiasm and joy. I first thought about art… more ›

  • Uncertainty and co-creation

    During the course of the 20th century, human life became steadily more secure. The change was uneven but a period of relative peace after the Second World War, and better health care, housing, work and education combined to improve the lives… more ›

  • In praise of Zadie Smith

    In the quiet period of the year’s end, I am listening to Zadie Smith, who has been speaking to several podcasts about her new book of essays, Dead and Alive. The podcast medium, whose strengths include intimacy and generosity, has… more ›

  • Learning to Listen 2: Power

    Listening seems such a quiet, gentle activity but in reality it is very powerful. Already, positioning myself as the listener makes the other responsible for speaking, for making something happen. They must respond to my question, or perhaps my silence.… more ›