interview 2
From hablarenarte, an association dedicated to contemporary creation with a special emphasis on the processes of mediation and education in the artistic field, we are interested in knowing what Madrid’s cultural institutions are doing for, by and with their youngest audience. Sofía de Juan, a collaborator of hablarenarte, introduces us to the different types of museums and centres in the city and the various strategies they implement in relation to childhood.
Sofía de Juan
Creator and educator, collaborator in hablarenarte
What would be the main mission of these cultural policies?
To create a physical or mental space, what’s more, a PLACE, where children can experience security, creativity, sense of belonging, sense of community, that their contribution is important and that they actually contribute to something good.
To implement devices for children self-suficient experiences, to make them accesible.
At the heart of a new generation of cultural policy should co-creation be placed to unleash new cultural forces, capture the narratives of children’s accounts and foster an inter-generational dialogue on equal footing.
We should try to see the world through childrens’ eyes and give power to the children to fuel creative cultural industries.
I totally agree with you Chris!
Thank you, Flavia!
Children of all ages and with different needs should be part of learning activities that take place in cultural spaces, making them the center of it all, letting them speak out loud how they feel about culture and how they would like to participate and create.
For cultural and creative institutions to step out of the trap of using patronising and reductive concepts and practices such as ‘audience development’ and ‘outreach work’
To make the idea of working with and for children so commonplace and institutionalized that it would be difficult to do otherwise.
To considere children as our main allies at the cultural institutions, and establish spaces and timing for direct dialogue.
To secure a children perspective on public investments and activities.
To create the space where children can become full cultural subjects, in terms of accessing what life is but also what they wish it would be
To empower children and young people to shape and co-deliver meaningful projects within their communities
To ensure children and young people’s cultural rights are central and fundamental to all public policy making. (I am unclear what the definition of child is here. What age range are we discussing? Does young person include everyone up to the age of 25 for example? Or only up to 14/16 etc?
To create new univers and to do these policies with children.
..to encourage children to be part of arts and cultural policy
I believe we need complement visits to teh cultural spaces offering emotional and intellectual enjoyment with different activities like interactive experiences that children take part of