Art Link – West Midlands was a participatory arts organisation active in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and 1990s. Based in the West Midlands, it was part of the national Shape Network, which aimed to widen cultural access for disabled and marginalised individuals. Art Link supported creative opportunities in hospitals, care homes, prisons, and community centres, enabling people with limited access to mainstream culture to take part in and create artistic work.
History Art Link emerged in the late 1970s, building on the ethos of the community arts movement which challenged the traditional hierarchies of artistic production on the basis of cultural democracy.Owen Kelly, Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels, Comedia, 1984. Its stated aim was to "promote and encourage arts activities for people for whom little provision exists". The organisation worked with elderly people, those with disabilities, people recovering from mental illness, and individuals in prison, probation, or residential care.
Art Link facilitated workshops and residencies by professional artists, brought live performances into institutions, and trained staff in creative methods. A 1991 reflection by coordinator Lee Corner described the organisation as "all the people who are involved in it", emphasising its collaborative and relational character.Lee Corner, Reflection on Art Link – West Midlands, February 1991, reproduced in archival materials.
Policy Context Art Link's work reflected broader changes in UK arts policy. In the 1980s, under the Thatcher government, public arts funding was reduced and organisations were increasingly expected to demonstrate social impact.Jenny Hughes, "Community Arts and State Funding in Britain," Cultural Trends, Vol. 6, No. 22 (1996), pp. 15–20. Following the Arts Council report The Glory of the Garden (1984), regional organisations were tasked with improving access while meeting new efficiency standards.Arts Council of Great Britain, The Glory of the Garden: The Development of the Arts in England Outside London, 1984. Art Link adapted by embedding artists in care institutions and framing its work in terms of social benefit, anticipating later models of arts in health and criminal justice.François Matarasso, Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts, Comedia, 1997.
In the 1990s, under New Labour, cultural policy increasingly emphasised social inclusion, access, and regeneration, aligning closely with Art Link's participatory approach.Helen Jermyn, The Arts and Social Exclusion: A Review Prepared for the Arts Council of England, Arts Council England, 2001.
Legacy Art Link – West Midlands contributed to the development of fields such as Arts in health, Creative ageing, and Arts in criminal justice. Its cross-sector collaborations, residencies, and participatory ethos prefigured practices now common in socially engaged art.Alan Kay, "Art and Community Development: The Role the Arts Have in Regenerating Communities," Community Development Journal 35(4) (2000), pp. 414–424. Cultural policy researchers cite initiatives such as Art Link as early examples of socially engaged practice that combined artistic and social objectives in innovative ways.
Although the organisation no longer exists in its original form, it is regarded as part of the history of participatory and community arts in the UK.Robert Hewison, Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics since 1940, Methuen, 1995.
See also Shape Arts Participatory art Community art Arts Council England Socially engaged art
References
Further reading François Matarasso, Only Connect: Arts Touring and Older People, Age Concern/Comedia, 1990. François Matarasso, Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts, Comedia, 1997. Charles Landry and Franco Bianchini, The Creative City, Demos, 1995. Owen Kelly, Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels, Comedia, 1984. Robert Hewison, Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics since 1940, Methuen, 1995. Jenny Hughes, "Community Arts and State Funding in Britain," Cultural Trends, Vol. 6, No. 22 (1996), pp. 15–20. Helen Jermyn, The Arts and Social Exclusion: A Review Prepared for the Arts Council of England, Arts Council England, 2001. Alan Kay, "Art and Community Development: The Role the Arts Have in Regenerating Communities," Community Development Journal 35(4) (2000), pp. 414–424. Claire Bishop, Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship, Verso, 2012. Eleonora Belfiore and Oliver Bennett, The Social Impact of the Arts: An Intellectual History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.