The non-formal arts learning sector, youth provision, and paradox in the learning city

ABSTRACT

The ‘learning city’ contains a range of non-formal learning economies. In recent years researchers have focused on, what has been termed, the non-formal arts learning sector, to document best practices, the emergence of new literacies and/or cultural practices, and to highlight interventions that support otherwise marginalised and underserved communities. Yet, for all of this attention, the non-formal learning sector has remained an opaque object, defined by hazy boundaries, diverse programme structures, and a presence in cities that is difficult to grasp. In this paper we develop an account of the non-formal arts learning sector for socially disadvantaged youth by treating it as a ‘socio-technical assemblage’ of the learning city. We draw on data from the Youthsites research project and examine the history, priorities, and tensions in the sector between 1995 and 2015, a period when the youth arts sector has become a significant feature of urban space. We trace the emergence of the sector in three global cities, analyse a series of paradoxes linked to income and property, the labelling of youth, and organisation aims, and show how these paradoxes shape the sector’s broader relationship with the state, labour and consumer markets, and related institutions that allocate support for young people.

KEYWORDS:

• Non-formal arts learning sector
• learning city
• youth culture
• infrastructure
• socio-technical assemblage
• creative industries

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See for instance, Vancouver’s Civic Youth Strategy (City of Vancouver, 1995), Youth Policy Framework (British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development, 2000), Cultural Plan for Vancouver, 2008–2018 (City of Vancouver, 2008), Preventing Youth Involvement in Gangs (City of Vancouver, 2008), Vancouver’s Civic Youth Strategy (City of Vancouver, 2010), Building BC’s Creative Economy (City of Vancouver, 2010), Focus on Youth: Canadian Youth Arts Programming and Policy (Canadian Cultural Observatory, 2007), Involving Youth in Non-Profit Arts Organizations (The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2007), Creative Spaces and Community-Based Arts Programming for Children and Youth (Arts Network for Children and Youth, 2013), Making the Case for Arts Education (Ontario Arts Council, 1997), From the Ground Up: Growing Toronto’s Cultural Sector (The City of Toronto, 2011), and Telling Our Stories, Growing Our Economy (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports, 2015).

2. See for instance, The Broadcasting Act, 1991, A Sense of Place, A Sense of Being, Arts and Cultural Projects in Rural and Remote Canada, Canada’s Large Performing Arts Organizations, Canadian Culture in Perspective, and the Status of the Artist Act.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Canada [No. 435-2015-0320].

Notes on contributors

Stuart R. Poyntz

Stuart R. Poyntz is Associate Professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC.

Rebecca Coles

Rebecca Coles is Research Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham.

Heather Fitzsimmons-Frey

Heather Fitzsimmons-Frey is Assistant Professor in Arts and Cultural Management at MacEwan University, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Alysha Bains

Alysha Bains is a Doctoral Student in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC.

Julian Sefton-Green

Julian Sefton-Green is Professor of New Media Education at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Michael Hoechsmann

Michael Hoechsmann is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University, Orillia, ON.