This is the first edition of the “Art and Community Notebooks” collection, published by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation aimed at reflecting on the importance and complexity of ethics in arts practise for social transformation.
Two interlocutors with decades of experience in the participatory arts share their views: writer, cultural activist and visual artist Arlene Goldbard, who lives in the US, and writer, researcher and community artist François Matarasso, author of the book entitled A Restless Art (published by the Gulbenkian Foundation in 2019).
The Notebook begins with an introductory essay by Matarasso entitled “A Preliminary Reflection on the Arts, Social Transformation and Ethics”. This is followed by a dialogue between the two writers, adapted and based on an online conversation about the ethics of participatory art held on 29 January 2021 that involved almost one hundred participants from the projects developed under the PARTIS initiatives led by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The third and final chapter shares a guide for the workshops on the ethics of participatory art that Arlene Goldbard has offered in the United States for several years.
Overall, the authors stress the importance of self-awareness and accountability in ethical decision-making, urging artists to consider their moral contracts with the communities they work with. They provide a framework for analysing ethical issues, encouraging a comprehensive examination of all perspectives and potential resolutions. The document aims to provoke critical thinking and self-reflection, offering guidance on how to approach ethical challenges in participatory art with compassion and care.
