Many people don’t like the work activism or consider that they have a valid opinion or that they can change things for the better. To overcome these barriers, we have worked with the arts as a way of enabling people to voice their views and start to take action.
Several years ago, as part of the Better Government for Older People programme in Newcastle upon Tyne, we have used a wide variety of art forms – creative writing, storytelling, drama, photography, collage – to enable people to give expression to the things that matter to them and how they would like change to happen. For example, we organised a series of creative writing workshops with older people and front line staff from a wide variety of organisations. People often came to the workshops with some trepidation, worried about their spelling, punctuation or grammar. Under the guidance of an excellent creative writing tutor, none of those things mattered. What really mattered is that people had the opportunity to give expression to what was really important to them. The results were completely amazing, even to those who took part, didn’t quite understand where their amazing insights came from. Working with a textile artist, we printed some of the writing on beautiful banners which we paraded through the high street to mark the launch of Better Government for Older People. Over the years we were able to use the writing in so many different ways to raise issues and influence change.
The outcome and the multiple ways in which we have been able to use the creative writing came as a bit of a surprise. Whilst many people found the process challenging, it was also enjoyable and gave people a great sense of achievement. At a time when people felt burdened by consultation, it gave an opportunity to find a fresh and authentic voice.
It can be hard to overcome the barriers to encouraging people to come along and give it a go! Creative writing sounds daunting, so we had to find all sorts of ways of attracting people to take part. Having an excellent tutor, who was demanding but inclusive, brought out the best in people, enabling them to achieve something they never dreamed of.
Barbara Douglas
