Re-Imagining Advocacy for the Arts

An Event supported by The Centre for Creative Ethnography QUB 10.10.2025.

Initiated and hosted by Dr Sara Walmsley as part of her activities during her time as Visiting Scholar at QUB

Sara Walmsley, socially-engaged artist and researcher, Conor Shields, long-term community arts director, practitioner and advocate, and Mairéad Duffy, musician and community practitioner, are searching together for new approaches to advocate for the transformative power of the arts—particularly in terms of influencing policy in Northern Ireland and the Republic. Having ‘bumped into each other’ along the way, they realise that they share this determination and are acting as an informal group to explore how learning together may better influence new opportunities for others.

They issued an invitation to come together in an open workshop using the World Café format to explore, find and build new alliances across practice and academia, and to imagine fresh policy formations, at a time when years of traditional advocacy and siloed government approaches have left community-facing arts practice in a perilous position—especially in Northern Ireland, where no current arts policy exists (only a recently published “framework”) after years of a downward spiral of governmental resources and support.

The event held at QUB and supported by the Centre of Creative Ethnography took place on Friday 10th October 2025. The focus was on

how might we think differently about the role of the arts?
how can arts can be applied in different contexts, in engaging communities?
how might young people be inspired and supported to see creativity not only as self-expression, but as a viable pathway into work, collaboration, shared and personal development and new, more meaningful contributions to society?

An intergenerational group of about 25 people attended the event. An opening welcome and warm-up exercise to focus participants on the purpose of this gathering was offered by Dr Walmsley. This was followed by Conor Shields outlining the realities of current policies towards the the arts within Northern Ireland and stressing the importance of finding effective ways to defend the arts now as it has become an increasingly side-lined sector being described in terms of heritage, culture and creativity. Mairéad Duffy then explained how participants would rotate around 4 tables within the World Café format. The themes addressed were Policy and Education Reform; The economy of Creativity and the Arts’ role in social mobility and empowerment; Digital Arts, AI and the future of creative work; Arts and Wellbeing - evidence and advocacy. Participants put notes from each session up on the wall. After lunch participants gathered for the plenary session entitled Advocacy and Action - what happens next?

The response to this event both in planning and attendance demonstrated how this theme resonates across disciplines. Academics and artists from across the island of Ireland attended. Many participants at senior levels from across disciplines had strong opinions which enriched the discussions between academics, arts managers and practitioners.

Some emerging points during the plenary session included the following. It is important to consider the language used in advocacy so as not to inadvertently contribute to an existing intellectual climate that is already sidelining the importance of arts for society. The role of the artist and the potential impact of a campaign were considered whilst stressing the importance of creating opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. A general consensus emerged around the need for time to develop and continue partnerships enabling long-term art and practice relationships. It was felt that sufficient research exists as evidence for the power of arts in mental health and wellbeing.

While discussing the place of AI a suggestion was made that an artist-in-residence would in all AI research departments. It was agreed that there is a need to support crafting and critical thinking before AI is used as a tool.

Consensus around the idea of cultural commons and socially-engaged arts needing protection led to an understanding that a broad-based campaign for advocacy needs to reject arts perceived in terms of being simply instrumental or in terms of monetary value. There are multiple benefits of producing art and consuming art. One participant used the phrase “Rewilding the Mind” as a core aspect of what a Re-Imagining Advocacy for the Arts needs to grasp and promote.

This event illustrated there is an appetite for activism to re-position an understanding of the societal potential of investment in arts practice participation as transdisciplinary. Next steps were identified as active with various individuals volunteering time and know-how to build on the synergies emerging during this workshop.

A vote of thanks goes to the Creative Centre for Ethnography and active support from Dr Ioannis Tsioulakis and Professor Maruška Svašek. Equally a thank you to all participants who travelled from many places to share in this inaugural event around Re-imagining Advocacy for the Arts.