OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
Our vision and the impact that our work makes. A brief overview of the framework that guides our pratice.
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Vision
Art is a human right - everyone is an artist
A world where culture is accessible to all, where communities build resilience, personal and collective growth is possible, well-being is strengthened – and social fragmentation and polarisation are actively countered.
Mission
We ignite change
We create excellent, long-term, and pioneering co-created works of community art that positively change people's lives, the places where they live, the communities in which they are and the institutions that are theirs.
On the leading edge of community music practice and pedagogies, impact driven and continually developed through: collective experience, training, academic research, in-depth community collaboration, extensive evaluation, and reflective practice.
Values
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Rigorous, dedicated, local community engagement and consultation work ‘on the ground’.
Rooted in the places people live – always evolving and responsive to changing needs.
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Rooting our practice within the places, people, and contexts in which we work, learning as equals with all our connections, enabling collective action.
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Open and welcoming, sharing of our work, knowledge, and methods.
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Rights-based, inclusive, and accessible offers that bring people together, often for the first time. Intentionally deconstructing power relations that uphold structural injustice: everyone is an artist.
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Long-term development and connections in community programmes, in the sector, with institutions, places, and people.
Inputs
Community Music
We are experienced community musicians with decades of practice internationally. We know that community music and our work have the power to ignite meaningful and positive change in individuals, communities, and institutions.
Our pedagogy & approaches
Academically referenced and researched, and backed up by constant collective training, reflection, and review. We commit to continuously updating our pedagogy and approaches as both our own practice and the wider field of community music develops. We note that we are also clearly rooted in, and inspired by, the ‘interventionist’ community arts practice traditions.
Our Code of Practice
All those working for and with us follow a shared Code of Practice, which ensures that our work is safe, inclusive, professional, and of consistently high quality. It sets out clear expectations for preparation, collaboration, safeguarding, and reflection.
Project cycle
Engagement
An intentional, collaborative process where we initiate, nurture, and sustain relationships with members of the community, including individuals and organisations, as co-creators of an artistic project.
Co-creation
“The creation of a work of art by professional and non-professional artists working on a basis of equality” - François Matarasso
Conception
The collaborative foundation where the project’s core ideas, goals, and intentions take shape through community partnership.
Evaluation & critical reflection
Our ongoing, collaborative process of assessing and learning ensuring not only the quality, but also the long-term impact of our work.
OUTCOME 1:
Cultural inclusion
Access to cultural creation and experiences has been ensured for participants regardless of background or circumstance, and cultural agency has been fostered through equal participation.
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The activities promote active participation and equal co-determination for all, regardless of background, abilities, or life situation, enabling participants to experience cultural inclusion and fostering, in the long term, a culture of welcome.
This becomes evident when participants highlight diversity positively and indicate in their feedback that they felt included and welcomed.
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Participants perceive themselves as part of a community in which they feel accepted and supported, and which they can help to shape.
This becomes evident when participants repeatedly take part in activities, identify themselves as part of the group, and highlight shared experiences.
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Through participation in artistic activities, participants strengthen their own creative expressiveness and develop their creative potential, fostering, in the long term, an awareness of their individual artistic identity.
This becomes evident when participants make use of different opportunities for creative co-creation and experiment with their own forms of expression.
OUTCOME 2:
Personal wellbeing
New forms of expression as well as social connections have been developed, through which personal wellbeing was enhanced and new resources were created.
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Participation in activities creates satisfaction and joy, providing a break from everyday life and strengthening inner resources.
This becomes evident when participants repeatedly take part in activities and report this themselves in their feedback at the end of a project phase.
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Participants discover new talents and experience themselves as creative agents, which leads to greater agency and self-initiative.
This becomes evident when participants proactively contribute their own ideas and take responsibility within the group process.
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Participation in activities supports the development of inner strength and flexibility in dealing with challenges, enabling participants to learn to cope better with setbacks and to build a positive outlook for the future.
This becomes evident when participants repeatedly approach challenges in a creative and solution-oriented way.
OUTCOME 3:
Active community
A vibrant community has been formed that shapes spaces and institutions co-creatively, democratically, and equitably.
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Participants engage with one another with mutual respect and open communication, and develop a shared sense of purpose, enabling co-creation on an equal footing.
This becomes evident when all participants contribute actively, build on each other’s ideas, and resolve conflicts collectively within the group.
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Participation in activities creates shared experiences that build bridges across individual differences, fostering long-term networks that strengthen social cohesion.
This becomes evident when new friendships are formed, the group remains in contact outside of the activities, and the sense of community grows.
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Participation in activities stimulates active co-creation of social life and fosters democratic awareness.
This becomes evident when participants initiate their own projects, take part in public discussions, or report an increased willingness to engage in civic action.
Evaluation methods
Including, but not limited to:
Participant feedback based on impact indicators
Participant and participation data
Workshop / event observation by workshop leads and external experts
Focus groups with stakeholders including participants
Even more...
We love to work in partnership. Want to develop something together, or use this as a starting point to ignite change? Or want to dive deeper and dig into our full Theory of Change?
Feel free to get in touch!