Consultation Through Creativity

A how-to guide for using participatory arts as a way of finding out what people think...

East Staffs Case Study artwork

Consultation through Creativity is a guide produced by Heritage & Arts as a tool for using the arts, in its many forms, as a means of gathering important information from different groups of people.

It demonstrates how the arts can provide creative ways of retrieving people's views on vast ranging issues. For example, using storytelling to uncover the views of people in care about community integration initiatives…to painting and drawing to discover what children think about healthy eating…the possibilities are almost endless!

Using the arts to consult with people about important issues is a fun and engaging way of reaching groups. This guide is primarily aimed at non-arts professionals as a step by step toolkit to help plan and run small to large scale arts consultation projects.

Two live community arts case studies are referred to throughout the toolkit as examples of real-life scenarios used to highlight elements of planning and running such a project.

"One of the problems is the tendency to go for the groups who are easiest to consult with rather than those where the most potential impact is. This toolkit will provide the tools, (and hopefully the confidence), for organisations to get this bit of the process right." Julia Holding, West Midlands Health Authority.

Consultation through Creativity is funded by Heritage & Arts, Staffordshire County Council, Arts Council West Midlands, South Staffordshire District Council and East Staffordshire Borough Council with support in kind from Staffordshire University.

The guide comes in the form of a handy to use ring binder with sections to pull out, add notes, use worksheets and copy templates.

For more details about the project, contact:
Tracie Meredith, Arts & Project Liaison Officer
Tel: 01785 278571
Email: tracie.meredith@staffordshire.gov.uk||