[27.08.2025]

{{Infobox organization

| name            = Art Link – West Midlands

| image           = 

| caption         = 

| formation       = Late 1970s

| dissolution     = 1990s

| type            = [[Participatory art|Participatory arts organisation]]

| purpose         = Widening access to the arts for marginalised groups

| region_served   = [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]], United Kingdom

| parent_organization = [[Shape Arts|Shape Network]]

| fields          = Arts in health, community arts, arts in criminal justice

}}

”’Art Link – West Midlands”’ was a UK participatory arts organisation (1970s–1990s) that worked with marginalised groups in health, social care and criminal justice settings as part of the national [[Shape Arts|Shape Network]].

== Art Link – West Midlands ==

”’Art Link – West Midlands”’ was a participatory arts organisation active in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and 1990s. Based in the West Midlands, it was part of the national [[Shape Arts|Shape Network]], which aimed to widen cultural access for disabled and marginalised individuals. Art Link supported creative opportunities in hospitals, care homes, prisons, and community centres, enabling people with limited access to mainstream culture to take part in and create artistic work.<ref name=”Wellcome”>Wellcome Collection Archives. “Art Link – West Midlands”, ART/AFH/A/19/8. [https://wellcomecollection.org/works/v3hnx889]</ref>

=== History ===

Art Link emerged in the late 1970s, building on the ethos of the [[Community arts movement|community arts movement]] which challenged the traditional hierarchies of artistic production on the basis of cultural democracy.<ref>Owen Kelly, ”Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels”, Comedia, 1984.</ref> Its stated aim was to “promote and encourage arts activities for people for whom little provision exists”.<ref name=”Wellcome”/> The organisation worked with elderly people, those with disabilities, people recovering from mental illness, and individuals in [[prison]], [[probation]], or residential care. 

Art Link facilitated workshops and residencies by professional artists, brought live performances into institutions, and trained staff in creative methods. A 1991 reflection by coordinator Lee Corner described the organisation as “all the people who are involved in it”, emphasising its collaborative and relational character.<ref name=”Corner1991″>Lee Corner, Reflection on Art Link – West Midlands, February 1991, reproduced in archival materials.</ref>

=== Policy Context ===

Art Link’s work reflected broader changes in [[Cultural policy in the United Kingdom|UK arts policy]]. In the 1980s, under the [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher government]], public arts funding was reduced and organisations were increasingly expected to demonstrate [[Instrumentalism|social impact]].<ref>Jenny Hughes, “Community Arts and State Funding in Britain,” ”Cultural Trends”, Vol. 6, No. 22 (1996), pp. 15–20.</ref> Following the Arts Council report ”[[The Glory of the Garden]]” (1984), regional organisations were tasked with improving access while meeting new efficiency standards.<ref>Arts Council of Great Britain, ”The Glory of the Garden: The Development of the Arts in England Outside London”, 1984.</ref> Art Link adapted by embedding artists in care institutions and framing its work in terms of social benefit, anticipating later models of arts in health and criminal justice.<ref>François Matarasso, ”Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts”, Comedia, 1997.</ref>

In the 1990s, under [[New Labour]], cultural policy increasingly emphasised social inclusion, access, and regeneration, aligning closely with Art Link’s participatory approach.<ref>Helen Jermyn, ”The Arts and Social Exclusion: A Review Prepared for the Arts Council of England”, Arts Council England, 2001.</ref>

=== Legacy ===

Art Link – West Midlands contributed to the development of fields such as [[Arts in health]], [[Creative ageing]], and [[Arts in criminal justice]]. Its cross-sector collaborations, residencies, and participatory ethos prefigured practices now common in socially engaged art.<ref>Alan Kay, “Art and Community Development: The Role the Arts Have in Regenerating Communities,” ”Community Development Journal” 35(4) (2000), pp. 414–424.</ref> Cultural policy researchers cite initiatives such as Art Link as early examples of socially engaged practice that combined artistic and social objectives in innovative ways.<ref>François Matarasso, ”Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts”, Comedia, 1997.</ref>

Although the organisation no longer exists in its original form, it is regarded as part of the history of participatory and community arts in the UK.<ref>Robert Hewison, ”Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics since 1940”, Methuen, 1995.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Shape Arts]]

* [[Participatory art]]

* [[Community art]]

* [[Arts Council England]]

* [[Socially engaged art]]

== References ==

<references />

== Further reading ==

* François Matarasso, ”Only Connect: Arts Touring and Older People”, Age Concern/Comedia, 1990.  

* François Matarasso, ”Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts”, Comedia, 1997.  

* Charles Landry and Franco Bianchini, ”The Creative City”, Demos, 1995.  

* Owen Kelly, ”Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels”, Comedia, 1984.  

* Robert Hewison, ”Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics since 1940”, Methuen, 1995.  

* Jenny Hughes, “Community Arts and State Funding in Britain,” ”Cultural Trends”, Vol. 6, No. 22 (1996), pp. 15–20.  

* Helen Jermyn, ”The Arts and Social Exclusion: A Review Prepared for the Arts Council of England”, Arts Council England, 2001.  

* Alan Kay, “Art and Community Development: The Role the Arts Have in Regenerating Communities,” ”Community Development Journal” 35(4) (2000), pp. 414–424.  

* Claire Bishop, ”Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship”, Verso, 2012.  

* Eleonora Belfiore and Oliver Bennett, ”The Social Impact of the Arts: An Intellectual History”, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.  

[[Category:Community arts]]

[[Category:Arts organisations based in England]]

[[Category:Participatory art]]

[[Category:Arts in health]]

[[Category:Arts in prisons]]

[[Category:West Midlands (region)]]

[[Category:Defunct organisations based in England]]

{{UK-arts-org-stub}}

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[04.08.2025 | FULLER TEXT]

Art Link – West Midlands: Participation, Policy, and the Politics of Cultural Access

Art Link – West Midlands was a pioneering participatory arts organisation operating in the UK from the late 1970s through the 1990s. As part of the Shape Network, Art Link sought to widen cultural access for individuals often marginalised by disability, institutionalisation, or social exclusion. Working across care settings such as hospitals, prisons, day centres, and residential homes, it connected artists with people who had limited or no access to creative opportunities, offering long-term residencies, performances, workshops, and training.

At the heart of Art Link’s work was the belief that cultural expression is a fundamental human right. The organisation developed programs for and with people who were elderly, disabled, recovering from mental illness, or incarcerated. Its interventions aimed not only to provide access to the arts but to foster dignity, connection, and imaginative agency in environments typically characterised by routine, control, and limitation.

This ethos reflected broader currents within the UK community arts movement, which had emerged in the 1970s as a response to the perceived elitism of state-funded arts. Art Link exemplified this movement’s commitment to local, embedded practices that positioned creativity as a means of collective empowerment, rather than as a product for passive consumption. Importantly, the organisation also invested in the training of care staff and arts workers, embedding artistic activity into the everyday life of institutions.

Responding to Political and Institutional Change

The organisation’s evolution unfolded within a shifting political landscape, particularly under Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in the 1980s. During this period, the UK’s public arts sector faced increasing pressure to justify its value in social and economic terms. Public funding for the arts became more tightly linked to demonstrable outcomes: reducing crime, improving health, or supporting economic regeneration. This shift had significant implications for community arts organisations.

Rather than retreat from these challenges, Art Link adapted its practice strategically. What began as small-scale creative engagements with individuals and day centres evolved into institutionally integrated cultural programming. Multi-artist residencies in hospitals, staff training courses, and strategic partnerships with local authorities allowed Art Link to extend its reach and embed creativity more deeply into systems of care. A 1991 organisational retrospective reflects on this adaptive process: “the early years of persuading, cajoling, and ‘knocking on doors’ were slowly replaced… with juggling the insistent demands of whole institutions.”

This shift was not simply pragmatic—it reflected an increasing awareness within the organisation of the need for systemic change. The 1990s saw the rise of the Disability Rights Movement and broader calls for equality across cultural and social life. Art Link responded by working not just with individuals but with institutions, contributing to strategies for equal opportunity and inclusive cultural practice. Its advisory role grew alongside its delivery work, positioning the organisation as a cultural partner to the health and care sectors.

A Collective and Situated Aesthetic

The work of Art Link was deeply relational. A retrospective reflection by Lee Corner (then coordinator), dated February 1991, emphasises that “Art Link is all the people who are involved in it.” For Corner, the organisation had developed a “human quality”—something organic and evolving, shaped by its artists, staff, and participants in equal measure. She stresses that its legacy lies in the shared enthusiasms and evolving relationships that animated its work, and that these qualities often defy the metrics typically used to evaluate impact.

Rather than focusing solely on outputs, Art Link cultivated aesthetic processes rooted in care, presence, and attention. The artists it engaged worked across media and disciplines, but were chosen as much for their sensitivity and critical awareness as for technical skill. Many came from community or experimental arts backgrounds, where process was as important as product. Participants were not treated as audiences or recipients, but as co-creators whose contributions shaped the nature of the work.

This emphasis on collaboration and embeddedness aligns with political theorist Antonio Negri’s idea of the mass artist. In his writing with Michael Hardt, Negri describes a dispersed form of creativity that arises from the collective intelligence and relational labour of everyday life. Art Link’s work can be read in this way: artists were not positioned as isolated producers but as part of a wider ecology of care, expression, and mutual learning.

Cultural Democracy and Radical Inclusion

The organisation’s values also resonate strongly with Owen Kelly’s theory of cultural democracy, articulated in Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels (1984). Kelly argues for a participatory model of culture in which people create and define their own cultural forms, rather than consume those sanctioned by elite institutions. For Kelly, true cultural democracy entails community control over the means of cultural production—a goal to which Art Link’s practices clearly aspired.

This was evident in its commitment to supporting participants as agents of their own creativity, and in its efforts to change the systems around them. By training staff, reshaping institutional routines, and creating space for artistic agency in often marginalising environments, Art Link moved beyond outreach to something closer to structural transformation. It helped redefine who could be considered an artist, what counted as valuable cultural expression, and where art could take place.

Legacy and Influence

Art Link – West Midlands played a vital role in the development of what are now widely recognised fields: arts in health, creative ageing, inclusive arts, and socially engaged practice. Many of the methods it developed—such as multi-artist residencies in care settings, participatory evaluation, and cross-sector partnerships—have become standard practice in arts and health contexts today.

Its work contributed to a broader reimagining of how the arts function within society: not just as spectacle or entertainment, but as a medium for connection, transformation, and co-presence. It also demonstrated that institutional collaboration need not entail creative compromise, but could open new pathways for radical engagement—especially when grounded in mutual respect and shared values.

As articulated by Lee Corner, Art Link’s true legacy may be the subjective, relational, and unmeasurable transformations it catalysed: the shifts in perception, feeling, and possibility that occurred when people were given space to express themselves creatively, often for the first time. In an era increasingly defined by metrics, funding outcomes, and policy priorities, Art Link’s work remains a reminder that cultural justice is both a political and aesthetic project, and that imagination can be a powerful tool for equity and care.