This international seminar, supported by the Scottish Arts Council, examines the various contexts in which arts are used within communities. Community arts stem from a belief that the arts are for everyone and the consideration of the context of the work and its social impact is as important as artistic quality.  

Community arts create a relationship between the art and social, economic and personal development.  The arts help to tackle social issues of disadvantage and exclusion, environment, health, and equality.  Community arts encompass all art forms, including traditional and contemporary.

Over the past 40 years, community arts has achieved recognition at the highest level.  However, its grass-roots nature has meant that opportunity for international networking and sharing of ideas between cultures has been limited and ad hoc. By offering this unique opportunity for organisations and individuals from all over the world to come together and discuss their experiences, arts within communities will be able to develop beyond current national boundaries - without compromising the essential local focus of the work.

The main topics will include:

• arts in urban and rural contexts
• arts used for social inclusion and regeneration
• arts and health
• arts in the workplace
• arts used for consulting communities
• arts as a tool for developing personal and social skills
• arts facilitating lifelong learning, training and inclusive routes into education.

This seminar offers participants the opportunity to explore issues of quality, sustainability, and partnership in community arts projects, using examples from Scotland as case studies. It is designed for participants to discuss policy context and practice in their own country and foster international networks. To encourage mutuality, the timetable provides maximum opportunities for dialogue between participants and the people involved in Scottish community arts scene

The case studies will provide a picture of artists working with diverse community groups, including children and young people, people with disabilities, asylum seekers, refugees, prisoners, and ethnic minority groups. Their work uses a variety of art forms from drama, music and creative writing to visual arts and dance. During the seminar, there will be a number of site visits to community arts projects to see this work first-hand.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS SEMINAR
This seminar is aimed at policy-makers and senior managers in ministries, local government and arts agencies/councils and other bodies implementing or influencing arts policy.  The seminar may also be of interest to artists and community workers. The seminar structure is highly interactive and should foster exchange of practice and experience between participants as well as invited speakers.