Profession community artist

Community artists research, plan, organise and lead artistic activities for people brought together by a shared interest, capacity, environment or condition. They manage and coordinate creative projects with local groups and individuals to foster their artistic creativity and improve their quality of life. Community artists make the arts accessible to the community they work for, and provide opportunities for participants to shape their artistic programme.

Knowledge

• Intellectual property law

  The regulations that govern the set of rights protecting products of the intellect from unlawful infringement.

• Labour legislation

  Legislation, on a national or international level, that governs labour conditions in various fields between labour parties such as the government, employees, employers, and trade unions.

• Art history

  The history of art and artists, the artistic trends throughout centuries and their contemporary evolutions.

Skills

• Develop a coaching style

  Develop a style for coaching individuals or groups that ensures all participants are at ease, and are able to acquire the necessary skills and competences provided in the coaching in a positive and productive manner.

• Assess community arts programme resources

  Identify the intellectual, theoretical, or physical resources or supplies available to develop your mediation practice. Identify what further support you may need from other artists, other specialists (physiotherapists, physicians...), supporting workers, etc. Identify the administrative support you need and plan how it can be outsourced.

• Confer on artwork

  Introduce and discuss the nature and content of art work, achieved or to be produced with an audience, art directors, catalogue editors, journalists, and other parties of interest.

• Develop cultural activities

  Develop activities adapted to the outreach and/or audience. Take into account difficulties and needs observed and identified from the perspective of enhancing curiosity and general capability to access to art and culture.

• Manage personal professional development

  Take responsibility for lifelong learning and continuous professional development. Engage in learning to support and update professional competence. Identify priority areas for professional development based on reflection about own practice and through contact with peers and stakeholders.

• Evaluate focus of community arts practice

  Evaluate your working practices before, within and after the sessions using feedback from a variety of sources to support your judgment. Recognise not only where you should be developing your own skills, or applying changes to the program design, but also what aspects of your professional practice can be outsourced to enable you to concentrate on your sessions. Identify where you are under-resourced, reflect on this and think creatively about how to reshape your dance offer to be clear about what you can and cannot take on. Interpret the data collected to create a report of your findings.

• Work with respect for own safety

  Apply the safety rules according to training and instruction and based on a solid understanding of the prevention measures and risks to your own personal health and safety.

• Develop awareness for your group participants

  Identify and record the learning that has taken place both for individuals in the group and for yourself to support development of quality in the work produced.

• Manage participants' expectations

  Build trust and relationships with all stakeholders. Articulate how your artistic discipline (dance, music, theater, visual arts...) can variously benefit, and support the needs and aspirations of, individuals and communities. Manage expectations of people involved once the community arts programme is designed or being designed. Be as clear as possible in the scoping stage to build trust between yourself, your potential groups, and funders. Be aware of social agendas, specially in government funded programs.

• Communicate with target community

  Identify and implement the best channels of communication for the community you are looking to work with.

• Define artistic approach

  Define your own artistic approach by analysing your previous work and your expertise, identifying the components of your creative signature, and starting from these explorations to describe your artistic vision.

• Interact with an audience

  Convey the artistic values of the art form(s). Respond to the reactions of your audience and involve them.

• Develop educational activities

  Develop speeches, activities and workshops in order to foster access and comprehension to the artistic creation processes. It can address a particular cultural and artistic event such as a show or an exhibition, or it can be related to a specific discipline (theatre, dance, drawing, music, photography etc.). Liaise with storytelles, craftspeople and artists.

• Balance participants' personal needs with group needs

  Apply a variety of approaches in your practice that balances the needs of each individual with that of the group as a whole. Strengthen each individual's capability and experience, known as person centred practice, while at the same time stimulating the participants and support workers to form a cohesive group. Create a supportive and safe atmosphere for an active exploration of your artistic discipline.

• Develop educational resources

  Create and develop educational resources for visitors, school groups, families and special interest groups.

• Research your target community

  Match your skills with your research on the needs of the target community.

• Collaborate with stakeholders in leading community arts

  Collaborate with a chosen team, gathering artists from other disciplines, art mediation coordinator, and/or health workers, physiotherapists and learning support workers, etc. in order to maximise the community arts program’s impact. Be clear about your collective roles, and evaluate their performance as a whole combining reflexive and reflective in your practice.

• Develop artistic coaching programme

  Develop and administer a coaching programme specific to the artistic project and performing individuals.

• Participate in artistic mediation activities

  Participate in cultural and artistic mediation activities: announce the activity, give a presentation or talk related to a piece of art or an exhibition, teach a class or a group, lead artistic mediation activities, lead or participate in a public discussion.

• Contextualise artistic work

  Identify influences and situate your work within a specific trend which may be of an artistic, aesthetic, or philosophical natures. Analyse the evolution of artistic trends, consult experts in the field, attend events, etc.

• Assess your competencies in leading community arts

  Evaluate and communicate your skills in leading community activities, especially any other complementary experience that may be advantageous.

• Direct community arts activities

  Devise and deliver participatory community arts activities that protect the health and safety of yourself and participants to be able to draw out the most effective learning. Take into account the whole experience of the art session.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB