"BANLIEUES D'EUROPE"

Jean Hurstel

l'art dans la lutte contre l'exclusion

THE ARTS IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SOCIAL EXCLUSION

From a talk by Jean Hurstel, President of Association Banlieues d'Europe, given at the Mercat Theatre, Scottish Arts and Communities Conference, Glasgow, 1994.

Theory No 1

The relationship between the arts and the community needs to be modified. Traditionally, the relationship between culture and community is dependent upon an artistic product. This product can be called a book, a theatrical production, a concert, an exhibition. The population which is touched by these products is composed almost exclusively of the middle classes who possess university degrees and have a tendency to see themselves as superior bodies and liberal professionals. This privileged sector of cultural consumers makes up the body which proportionately represents 4% of society.

In order to democratise the arts we must break through the cultural barriers of social segregation. For forty years, tentative moves to broaden the "circle of connoisseurs", by providing finances, transport, travel, conferences, debates, projects in schools, have not succeeded. The general public are not interested in high art. This relationship between the producers of art and the cultural consumers is so close knit that it is an insurmountable social barrier. The artistic project within a neighbourhood or with a group inspires another relationship with the people, no longer is it the imposition of product. Instead it is working together with people creatively in an artistic process. It does not propose a scholastic apprenticeship; laying down artistic codes of practice, more it is a participatory adventure; combining ideas, imagination, the opportunity to play with form and with language in a collective process.

Theory No 2

The relationship of the arts with communities need not be reduced to the level of social work. In most of the sectors of Europe, community centres, youth centres and social work centres offer services to help an under privileged population. Rising unemployment, the break down of the family and poverty affecting more of the population has increased the demands for help from these services. Violence, drug abuse and delinquency are not automatic responses to a global crisis situation; these phenomena are representative of generations of attitudes, values, and behaviour patterns of individuals and families. That said, there is no point in reacting only in material terms if at the same time one does not respond equally to the imagination and symbolism of individuals and families.

An artistic project in an area, is not only an artistic exchange. It is equally a method of overcoming the reality of the situation and working against the process of social exclusion, from the inside.

The arts within communities is not a social panacea, nor is it a method of broadening the public consumption of culture. The artistic process must not be confused with socio-culture or social work or the attempts to democratise the arts.

Theory No 3

It is the belief that Arts within communities takes an new step. The artistic process is an adventure which begins by bringing together an area, its people and its culture. What follows is that these cultures and the remarkable voices of their populations are heard. Finally the artistic work of these cultures, produced and discussed from within the community, return in a way that is confrontational.

Theory No 4

The network of "Banlieues d'Europe " is a method of broadening possibilities in the marginalised areas and social groupings throughout the whole of Europe. It exists to inspire experiences like this and heighten awareness of these new questions everywhere in Europe. The network is a model for future life in communities. In a network there is no longer a centre and a periphery and no longer the hierarchy between the centre and the periphery. In a network, communication is in a star shape. It integrates and compares experiences and information. It is the coming together of the arts of different cultures; for the distribution of knowledge, resources, artists and artistic resources. Far from being a dumping ground for the chaos of the world; the community must also be a place for experiment, and for new forms of social and collective life.

What is proposed is an evaluation of experiences and projects in progress.

In the general withdrawal and regression into nationalist and conformist values which nourish social and economic exclusion, Banlieues d'Europe represents a network of hope.

Jean HURSTEL © 1994

Illustration: Graffiti art in Sheffield area of England by Simon Sunderland, shown at the 6th Banlieues d'Europe Encounters in Brussels, 1996.

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