In May 2018 Voluntary Arts launched a national programme of Open Conversations to learn more about how creative cultural activity is organised in local communities across the country. They undertook 88 Open Conversations across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. They wanted to know more about the creative activity local people are taking part in, how they started, how the activity is organised, who takes part, why they do it and what they get out of it.

Their aim was to surface and celebrate the full extent of voluntary and amateur creative activity within different communities of place and interest, which predominantly exists without the support of public funds. Ultimately, they wanted to explore whether the shared undertaking of creative activity has a part to play in contributing to the reconciliation of divisions within communities.

Certain conditions enable grassroots creative groups to thrive, Voluntary Arts found three requisites: space, creative citizens and recognition. One of the most common themes from the conversations was about the many and varied benefits of regular participation in creative activity – three overarching benefits were identified:
social connectedness and community identity
fun and enjoyment – “My time”
positive impacts on participants’ health and wellbeing.

Further reading of earlier reports referred to:
https://www.artshealthresources.org.uk/docs/enriching-britain-culture-creativity-and-growth/

Coles, G., Sharples, S. and Simpson, R. (2020). Common Ground. Rewilding the Garden: Reconnecting with Overlooked Self-cultivating Culture in our Communities. UK: Voluntary Arts.