‘POST CODE WAR’: Representations of Locality and Landscapes of Danger, Belonging and Understanding

Abstract

Arguments for the impact and significance of arts initiatives have been made previously, but these discussions have often been situated in the context of justifying a need for the arts to aid policy. This paper renders the unstable reality of engaging young people through a creative medium that raises a critical awareness about one's social position. While I am aware that two major questions may be asked in relation to this notion of ‘reality’, perhaps--whose reality? And what is the ‘real’ in reality?--I am interested in and would like us to consider the constantly shifting role of the artist, practitioner, researcher, participant, and student throughout the challenges of collaboration and facilitation.