Deliverable 2.1 : data set of case studies in the arts 2008-2020

Abstract

As a response to increasing social tensions, arts-based interventions have been performed in Europe for decades, to address burning issues, strengthen identities and create communities. AMASS projects target similar objectives, so the identification of good practice from the last decade was important to construct a solid foundation for the development of new interventions. With resources and publications included in the information collected, this database provides an authentic knowledge repository for researchers. Using the data, they can identify motivations, philosophies, modes of engagement and impact of arts-based social interventions from a comparative, geographically balanced and multidisciplinary perspective. We invited AMASS partners from seven countries to identify relevant past and ongoing projects and evaluate them in their own sociocultural setting. The research database that we built, consists of 133 standardised project descriptions. Regrettably, not all of the significant interventions had been fully documented by their promoters, so for this deliverable, we selected 10 good practices per country, 70 in all. After a discussion with prospective informants (AMASS partners) about data collection methodology and topics of importance, we employed a survey method through template that included the following themes: 1. Descriptive data of the projects: country of execution, title, website, financing institution and grant type, project co-ordinator and the co-ordinating institution. 2. Project features: time frame, target population (age, educational level or employment type, special needs etc.); developmental objectives (development of attitudes, skills, values, increase of well-being, use therapeutic functions of art, targeted policies and type of civic engagement envisioned, social / cultural inclusion etc.). Descriptions also include the nature of intervention, working arrangements, art forms involved, eventual connection to school / higher education curriculum. 3. Innovative character of the project in addressing societal challenges: methodological innovations, prizes and other recognitions won. 4. Assessment of results: methods and results achieved. 5. Sustainability: one of the most important features of an educational intervention is its survival through followers of innovative methods after the supported project had been finished. For ongoing projects, foreseen sustainability or reasons for unsustainability were described. 6. Publications about the project: research reports in journals, teaching aids and learning tools, and other dissemination material. Our database complements Deliverable 1.3: A comprehensive literature review, a state-of-the-art review of research-relevant material regarding the social impact of the arts in the partner countries of the AMASS project. A detailed analysis of information retrieved from the database is provided in D1.2, Comparative policy analysis and evaluation of artistic projects. This introduction gives a summary of findings and explains how stakeholders who intend to support socially challenged communities may utilise the database in the future.