Policy attachment in the arts: the underlying agendas of arts’ social role

ABSTRACT

Debates on arts’ social role have been prominent in cultural policy and research for the past decades. Claims for what the arts “do” to people and the ways in which they can bring about both individual and societal transformation are plentiful, not seldom in association with a wider debate about the rationales for public support of the arts. Consequently, the reflection on participation in the arts, and its implications for cultural policies, has gained in relevance. In Flanders, the recognition of participatory arts practices within the framework of the Arts Decree is illustrative in that vein. In this article, we argue, however, that the ongoing debate fails to be explicit about the underlying agendas to which this social role intentionally and/or unintentionally accommodates. We aim to enrich this debate by reporting on the findings of semi-structured interviews with art intermediaries working within different art organisations in Flanders and Brussels.

KEYWORDS:

• Arts
• arts’ social role
• art intermediaries
• policy attachment
• art institutions

Notes on contributors

Hanne Dewinter is a PhD student at the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ghent University (Belgium).

Kris Rutten is professor of Cultural Studies at the Department of Educational Studies of Ghent University, specifically within the research group Culture & Education. He is president of the Rhetoric Society of Europe (RSE) and Board member of the International Association for Cultural Studies (ACS).

Lieve Bradt is professor of Social Pedagogy at the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ghent University. She is the coordinator of the Youth Research Platform, an interuniversity and interdisciplinary policy research centre subsidised by the Flemish government.

Notes

1 The tax shelter is regulated at federal level, while the arts fall within the jurisdiction of the communities.