Participatory Art and Labour: Exploring Creative Collaboration and Advocacy

Dr Joshua Y'Barbo 

Wash Your Memory Inflation (2023) by Choeun Kim. Digital Print.

As an artist-in-residence for the TEAM LEWIS Foundation, I research intersections between art and communication, which involves writing about important social and sustainability issues within art and culture. Last month, we celebrated May Day, a historically significant day in the labour movement, marking the global recognition of workers' contributions and the achievements of the international labour movement. This meaningful occasion, deeply rooted in the struggle for workers' rights, serves as a fitting time to acknowledge the role of participatory, socially engaged art in advocating for workers' rights and social change. These art forms have been instrumental in engaging communities, expressing the struggles and triumphs of the working class, and highlighting social justice and inequality issues. Through community-based projects, interactive installations, or collaborative performances, artists and participants have been pivotal in raising awareness and inspiring action. As we reflect on this day, let us continue to appreciate and support the intersection of participatory, socially engaged art and the labour movement in our ongoing pursuit of a more just and equitable society. 

Background

Participatory and socially engaged art practices, also known as collaborative art or co-creation, involve the active involvement of the audience or community in creating an artistic work. These concepts date back to Alan Kaprow’s early happenings in the 1950s, the New Genre Public Art in the 1990s, and the art’s social turn in the 2000s. According to Tate (nd), ‘Participatory art is a term that describes a form of art that directly engages the audience in the creative process so that they become participants in the event.’ Additionally, ‘Socially engaged practice describes art that is collaborative, often participatory and involves people as the medium or material of the work’ (tate.org.uk). These art forms blur the lines between artist and audience, inviting participants to contribute their ideas, experiences, and labour to the creative process. The result is often a collective artwork that reflects the diversity and richness of the participants' perspectives and skills. 

For example, the artist-academic Tania Bruguera created Arte Útil (translated into useful art) as an archive of art projects that meet the criteria of new methods and social purpose that combine participatory, socially engaged art and collective activism emerging in contemporary art history and theory. ‘Arte Útil draws on artistic thinking to imagine, create and implement tactics that change how we act in society’ (arte-util.org).  This development has important implications for participatory, socially engaged art and labour, highlighting overlooked trends in art history and cultural activism. Arte Útil acknowledges the potential for transformative social impact through artistic expression and creative strategies by emphasising the combination of participatory, socially engaged art and collective activism. This approach helps bring attention to marginalised or overlooked movements and voices within the context of art history and cultural activism, fostering a more inclusive and diverse understanding of these fields.

One of the transformative aspects of participatory art is the concept of labour following a turn towards the social impact of artwork over the aesthetic experiences the artist provides. Claire Bishop (2006) wrote, ‘[…] artists are increasingly judged by their working process—the degree to which they supply good or bad models of collaboration—and criticized for any hint of potential exploitation that fails to “fully” represent their subjects, as if such a thing were possible.’ In traditional art forms, the labour involved in creating artwork is usually undertaken by the artist alone or by a team of artists working under the direction of a lead creator. However, in participatory art, the labour is distributed among the participants, who become co-creators and co-producers of the artwork. This equitable distribution of labour challenges the traditional hierarchical structures of the art world. It empowers individuals to take ownership of the creative process, fostering a sense of hope and inspiration. However, Bishop also suggested that fully representing subjects in an artistic process of the product is impossible, creating a problem of symbolic over actual representation of those participating in the creative process. 

Highlight Value in Different Forms of Labour

Participatory art also has the profound potential to highlight the value of different forms of labour, including those often marginalised or unrecognised. ‘There has been an upsurge of interest regarding how actors engage with art within organisational processes. However, scholars have tended not to study the role of art within contemporary collective labour organising’, according to Zhe Jiang and Marek Korczynski, who published their research findings in Human Relations (2021). By inviting participants to contribute their unique skills and knowledge, participatory art can bring attention to the labour of communities frequently overlooked in mainstream artistic and cultural narratives. This can be particularly powerful in addressing social justice and equity issues, as it can elevate marginalised groups' voices and experiences, fostering empathy and understanding. 

Support Labour Organising

Participatory art can support labour organising, especially for marginalised and less powerful workers. For example, ‘[…] art practices are deeply embedded within the flat organizing processes of Justice for Domestic Workers, a self-organizing group of migrant domestic workers in London’ (Jiang & Korczynski 2021). Jiang and Korczynski emphasise the concept of flat organising art, involving participatory art practices that support flat labour organising in the Justice for Domestic Workers (J4DW). This has significant implications for drawing attention to labour communities and addressing overlooked artistic and social issues. It also provides a platform for highlighting the experiences of migrant domestic workers and other marginalised groups within the broader discourse of social engagement and participation in the arts.

A Platform For Collaboration and Community Building

Furthermore, participatory art can be a platform for fostering collaboration and community-building. By working together on a collective artistic endeavour, participants can form connections and relationships that transcend traditional boundaries. Arte Útil (nd) is an example. 

Whether through self-organised groups, individual initiatives or the rise of user generated content people are developing new methods and social formations to deal with issues that were once the domain of the state. Arte Útil case studies show how these initiatives are not isolated incidents, but part of a larger historical trajectory that is now shaping our contemporary world. 

Additionally, Jiang and Korczynski's research analyses the organisation of J4DW from a participatory, socially engaged art perspective. This research creates a connection between challenging traditional aesthetics and using art to address broader social justice issues. Preceding this research, the organisation partnered with the Show Room London, renowned for its collaborative cultural production and social advocacy. In 2009, it hosted a series of workshops advocating for justice for domestic workers. These roughly twenty-year trends in contemporary art history significantly affect art and galleries as platforms for global sustainable problems, emphasising the importance of building partnerships and forming communities to address environmental, racial, and social justice issues. This collaborative process can foster a sense of belonging and unity as participants work towards a common creative goal. This way, participatory art produces tangible artworks and encourages intangible social connections and networks that raise awareness through symbolic representation and provoke change through direct actions.

Significance 

Participatory art has gained momentum as artists and cultural institutions seek to engage with diverse communities and explore new models of creativity and labour. From large-scale public art projects to community-based workshops, participatory art has the potential to democratise the creative process and amplify the voices of a wide range of participants. Therefore, participatory art plays a crucial role in advocating for workers' rights and social justice by utilising creative expression to amplify the voices of marginalised labourers, capturing the authentic struggles and triumphs of the working class, and shedding light on pertinent issues of social justice that demand attention and action.

However, participatory art may sometimes prioritise symbolic gestures over tangible, meaningful change in labourers' working conditions and rights when focused on labour rights. This perspective suggests that the emphasis on artistic representation and symbolic actions may only sometimes translate into substantial improvements in the real lives of workers. It could divert attention and resources away from more practical and effective strategies for enacting genuine change. This nuanced view encourages us to critically evaluate the role of participatory art in the labour movement, considering its strengths and limitations and fostering a sense of engagement and responsibility.

In conclusion, participatory art presents a unique opportunity to redefine labour, creativity, and collaboration within the artistic sphere. By inviting diverse participants to engage in the co-creation of artworks, participatory art has the potential to reflect and challenge traditional power dynamics. It can elevate marginalised voices, foster a sense of unity and shared purpose, and ultimately transform the art world and the communities it engages with. As our understanding of art and labour continues to evolve, participatory art emerges as a compelling and inclusive practice with the power to significantly impact the labour movement and society at large by offering a platform for the voices of the marginalised to be heard and for the power structures to be questioned and reshaped.

The May Day Rooms at 88 Fleet Street. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

References: 

arte útil (no date) About. Available at: https://www.arte-util.org/about/colophon/ (Accessed: 04 June 2024). 

Bishop, C. (2008) ‘16 the Social Turn Collaboration and its Discontents', Rediscovering Aesthetics, pp. 238–255. Available at: https://www.artforum.com/features/the-social-turn-collaboration-and-its-discontents-173361/ (Accessed: 04 June 2024).

Jiang, Z., & Korczynski, M. (2021). The art of labour organizing: Participatory art and migrant domestic workers’ self-organizing in London. Human Relations, 74( 6), 842-868. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726719890664

Tate (no date). Happenings. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/h/happening#:~:text=Happenings%20were%20the%20forerunners%20of,the%20Reuben%20Gallery%2C%20New%20York. (Accessed: 04 June 2024). 

Tate (no date). New Genre Public Art. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/n/new-genre-public-art (Accessed 04 June 2024). 

Tate (no date). Participatory Art. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/participatory-art (Accessed: 04 June 2024).

Tate (no date). Socially engaged practice. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/socially-engaged-practice#:~:text=Socially%20engaged%20practice%20describes%20art,or%20material%20of%20the%20work (Accessed: 04 June 2024). 

The Showroom (no date). Justice for Domestic Workers. Available at: https://theshowroom.org/about/relationships/justice-for-domestic-workers#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20local%20organisation,domestic%20work%20visible%20in%20society. (Accessed: 04 June 2024).