Annual conference for socially engaged practitioners, this year focussing on creativity and organising in response to Covid-19. Four afternoons of curated presentations and provocations all available to watch at your leisure. Heart of Glass, 2020
Doing Art Research in a Pandemic
A DIY collection sharing reflections, research activities and methods that have emerged during Covid-19. Sections include: Narrating & Documenting, Creative Processes & Arts Practices, Social Engagement & Activism, Collaboration, Live to Digital, Tools & Processes, Reflections & Commentaries. Compiled by Vida Midgelow, 2020.
No Going Back
Part tool-kit, part think piece this publication puts the artist at the heart of imagining and activating a better future to come out of this crisis. Originating in the US but with relevance for practitioners globally. The Center for Cultural Power, 2020.
Don’t Cancel
A film sharing "a collection of starting points for taking your activism online and remote, keeping people safe while continuing your important work." Centre for Artistic Activism, 2020.
Radical Education Workbook
Although this isn't directly an arts-toolkit, it is relevant and useful for arts practitioners interested in taking a radical approach to educational theatre/arts projects. Plenty of theory and practice, case studies and exercises. Radical Education Forum, 2012.
Performance and Community: Commentary and Case Studies
This book presents case studies from UK artists and organisations working in social and community contexts, focusing on their aesthetic and political ambitions rather than the ‘healing, educational or problem solving’ frame the work is often cast in. Caoimhe McAvinchey, 2014
Remapping Performance: Common Ground, Uncommon Partners
This book discusses collaborative projects between communities, arts and social sector agencies, where all are vital to realise the ambitions of the project. Case studies have a mainly US focus but highly relevant to UK practitioners. Jan Cohen-Cruz, 2015
Aesthetics Short Takes
This framework offers eleven attributes for using arts as a tool for change. It aims to enable artists to shape the criteria by which their work is assessed. For more Animating Democracy resources go here. Animating Democracy, Americans for the Arts, 2017
The Citizen’s Handbook
A toolkit for community-based activism covering community engagement, facilitation and community organisation. The toolkit is useful for practitioners seeking to understand group dynamics, sustainable community engagement. Citizen’s Handbook, 2019
