So......

we came together and this funny man from England and his two mates from Charnwood Arts ran a workshop... ....and then this book about the powers within us, around us and through us popped into being.......!!!

How do we help people overcome fear (through the arts)? Give people the freedom! Stimulate them to open gates in their brains that were closed many years ago or which didnt get any attention. Do this instead of wanting them to create or handle things in the way you want them to.

Fear to start Fear to end Fear to look IN the box Turning it around Fear to talk to people To an audience When I dont know enough Just from the belly Fear of being judged. People have fear of failing themselves. Some people have such a need to be great in all they do. There is the fear of exposing oneself..say through lack of knowledge. I was afraid of using the phone but I overcame it eventually through role playing it..

Does that kid have no ears?

ISOLATION

e-mail Weakness Cold Inside Keeping

Lonely

Dark Despair

Migration

Fear

Prison

Work

Island

POWER
Money Boss Confidence

Speech

Representation Expression To Define

Woman

Power With Lead Tree Energy

Whats the worst thing that could happen.

I can say I have no great fears at the moment..

....two things, I END UP alone without the people I love. .....and my MacBook dies on me!

POWERLESS
Silence Pattern

Poverty

Representation Man

Power Over

Dead Fear Ignorance

Child

Exhaustion

I think these are some of the things which disadvantage people from being involved in the artsdrugs, disability, lack of money.. What is it that we can be surrounded with to live well? Energy: Good Food. Self Esteem: Status, Jobs, Positive Feedback. Values and Norms: Communication, Schooling, Sports and Clubs. People exist in circumstances where they may lack confidence, have permanent diseases or become stuck in the environment they grew up in.

What keeps us held here in this place and what can we do to change it? Who can we involve, where shall we start and when? How will we begin? From powerlessness how can we turn (their) power over us into power with them? Why do we lack the commitment and determination to make it happen? Are we too comfortable or too uncomfortable to find the energy to bother? Where do we find the power of transformation? Is it in you?

 My name is .I want to take my picture for the book but I am afraid that if they see my picture they will send someone to kill me. If you want to but are afraid can you think of a way which would be alright to have a photograph of you? Like this!

IDENTITY, CONTEXT AND CONFLICT

Addressing these factors in isolation does not solve conflict in the long run - we must addres them all

ATTITUDES

BEHAVIOURS

STRUCTURES

HOME

INSTITUTION

COMMUNITY

ETHNICITY

BELIEF

STATUS

OPPRESS

Money The Weather

Fixed System (Bureaucracy)

Repressing

Time

Work

Energy Diversity

Isolation

Fear

Tension

Limits

My name is Ahmed Shabini. I came from Sudan. I came here with my wife and we asked for asylum in Belgium eight years ago. After two years we arrived in Belgium we have a daughter. My daughter is seven years old and we have a son and my son is five years old now. His name is Ahmed and actually it was a difficult time for me in 2006. I was out of procedure in Belgium. I was without papers and it was difficult for me because there is no way to go back to my country so I decided to study more. I studied in my country art and I decided to make another studies in art and I studied more three years.

I decided to use what I studied to have money to eat and I work with making small things, I make small things with my talent. I use it to buy bread. After a while I got papers and I looked for a job, the job what Im doing now is with an organisation that works in the city where I live. It is an organisation called Ambrosias Tafel (it means table in English). It is an organisation that works in the neighbourhood - we make films with people, make projects with schools.

I suggest to my organisation I want to make a project in my neighbourhood and that project was about my dream and how I could make my neighbourhood better and a good place for my kids to grow up......because that neighbourhood is a poor neighbourhood in which there is more than 80 nationalities living. Then I decided, how can I make these people who come from different cultures and different places to let them come in one dialogue because nobody has contact with each other.

That generation that hang there doing nothing - just busy with struggles, busy with police officer or drugs or alchohol. I want also to have discussion with these people to make something with them. I decided to ask them what they wanted to do and what dream they have in that neighbourhood and then we use that text to make rap music and hip hop music.......they make a beautiful text, beautiful lyrics about what is going on in their life in that neighbourhood.

I decided I want to go to schools in that neighbourhood to work with kids and to let them have contact with the father that they saw coming to school every day with his daughter.....and I worked there with kids around drawings and writing and then they have contact with me and then I decided to go and have contact with other generations in the neighbourhood.

Then I said, Ive missed one generation, thats the old people and most of them are from Belgium originally, I think....I mean white people in that neighbourhood who had no contact with nobody - they just live isolated with themselves in the house.....and then I said then that maybe it is also nice to have contact with that generation in the neighbourhood.

By coincidence I saw a woman, shes busy with calligraphy and I went to her to ask her, I said I am an artist and I am also busy with Arabic calligraphy.... could we do something together with what you have and what I am having? Although she was unsure who is this man at first we became friends and then we make, also make nice artwork. We combined Arabic calligraphy and Latin calligraphy and we chose also poems, famous poems in the Belgian culture.

With all these things we make films which go about my dream in that neighbourhood. Its called Shabinis Dream......and that dream that I want to leave it for my kids to grow up in that neighbourhood without conflict, without any problems about from where they came. For which colour they have and I want to let it as an example for all the nationalities that live there and I hope one day that my kids can use it in a good way.

Essentially it is the people we work with who have the power....without them we wouldnt have anyone to work with and it is their energy and stories which excite the audience
The essence of an interview/conversation in the first workshop.

Transcribed from a video made in the second workshop.

COMMUNITY
Sharing Contact

Friendship Comfort Out

Strength Engagement Encounter

Family

Understanding

Trust

Power

Life

Inner motivation creates power to know why you are in a project. To get to the power of the community. The inner power/motivation needs to be clear for anyone......even though maybe you dont know where the project is going to..... Although maybe you dont have a lot of time or money...without the motivation you wont be able to pass the obstacles.... Before you start the path ask yourself....

....so its all about inner motivation like Ahmed Shabinis story the big dream

People may think to themselves Im not attractive to others and other people are so much smarter than me There are so many external rules, try walking around naked in public for instance! Im gay.how many people still think I should not be married hey! We are still working on this. Some people have this message inside themselves: The less you come together with other people the less you have problems or trouble with them. One little thought yet such consequences for the society we live in when multiplied by millions. I would like to talk about myself to others but will they notice.what I have to say is not interesting enough? What is it that even our bodily functions are ruled by others and the ability to pay..why should we have to pay to go to a public toilet?! We have rules inside ourselves.think good before you decide something.

LIBERATE
Curiosity

Time Staying Somewhere Warm Space Unity

Commitment

Own Space

Improvisation Engage

Release

Work

Reading

Money

Time

When we have the ability to work with art to address the fears of others you can just tell your personal stories without pushing them to believe youshow the change in yourself and let people see the transformation. How can I help change the fears of others, help them move on through creativity.? I have to be therebe present and give fully of my time and attention. I have to be realrespect them and show my interest. For every man, woman and child ask.search with them.not for the show, to tick boxes and make up the numbers.

If we all lack confidence then refusing love from other people is hard..

Give it (love) but only if you are really ready for itand you really mean it!

EMOTIONS
Relief Jealousy

Sickness

Love Anger Concern

Inspiration

Understanding Fear Joy

Sadness

Peace

Hate

Happy

Planning, gathering energy to do things. hey! JUST DO IT! How can we use our energies? How do we transform our fears and liberate our dreams? Create the frame Listen and observe Vision Open Lead Choice

How do we change things?

WITH INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT AND DETERMINATION

We are the burning tip of all thats come before we just need to remember this and keep on looking at and working with all that is there to support us.

We talked about things and situations which oppress and things and situations which liberate. Participants contributed a word each for both. We then contributed a random word to another list followed by a list of random letters, colours and shapes. We were split into three groupsand then because Kevin cannot count..into four groups! Each group took a list and had ten minutes to make photographs for each word in the right order. Some of us took 15 minutes because Kevins skill with time is roughly similar to his skill with maths! All the images were downloaded to create pages for the book. The exercise was fun and really got us working and talking together very quickly.
Participant in the Thursday workshop

We fed off each others ideas. We were very good at reaching agreement and excited by the next word and photograph. We finished very fast, frantically running due to the tight time set for our work together.
Participant in the Friday workshop (This exercise was adapted from a simple quick fire approach to photography used by Soft Touch Arts with young people in the UK).

Random
Friendship Tree Flower

Control

Words
Letter

Money

Heat Connections Power Station

Resting

Picture

Celebration

Arts

Working in a group, gathering images that were relating to the words the larger group had chosen. It was exciting and good in the way in which we would discuss the word, look for an object that represented it and then discuss the object until we found something that we all agreed on. We would then capture it. It was a quick in the way in which we found things. Everyone pointed to something else that was more relevant than the thing we had already picked but our choice was made as we had to follow the list in order.

As an artist you sometimes get too excited about your own ideas and there is a danger of becoming too dominant within the group. When you pull back, which we all did, and work together, the process becomes much more important. Sharing ideas, brainstorming together and ironically enough concentrating on the process also made the results better. It was a balanced collaboration.

Colours, SHAPES, Letters

Expression
Freedom Jump Free Art Voice Say Out of the Box Exploitation Scream Moving Colour Laugh Message

Conformity
Follow The Army Standing Still (Frozen) Fit Invisible Silent Expectations Stuck Grey Sorry Resignation Unquestioning Acceptance

Random Words
Fruits Party Hat Dog Dance Deep Believe Feel Jamming Insight Transformation Peace Sleep Sunshine Sunflower Woman

I would love to be making music and video with young people about their lives.on the road together..getting better connected to the world.

Some people requested that we put some of the thoughts and ways of thinking about the work down on paper and share the diagram I use to make sense of different ways of working with people. We started with what we had learnt from ICAF three years ago. To essentialise, a message about what we do.

Its simple:

Dialogue
which builds

Relationships
which explores

Benefits
infused with actions and consequences based on

Creativity

Five Roles through which we can determine the transfer and development of power(s)

Contexts, relationships, partnerships, issues, linked programmes and work

VISION
Whose Vision?

ARTIST
Whose Ideas? Whose Skills?
Demonstrate Share Dictate Leadership Experience Innovate Experiment Play Collaborate Develop Skills Lead

DESIGNER
Whose Decisions?

MAKER
Whose Hands, Voice and Body?
Highly Skilled Commercial Craftperson

DISTRIBUTOR
Who Delivers? Distributes
Demonstrate/Networks Media Venues Reputations Promotion Resources Representation Recognition Access Scale Time Meaning Context

The Funder The Commissioner The Arts Organisation The Artist Flexible Frameworks The Group The Community The partnership Individuals

Resources Quality Expectations Proof

Choices Achievability Management of Process Practicality Editorial Decision Making

Discipline Develop new Skills Utilise Existing Skills Apprenticeship Hands On Directing

Evaluation of process - participant feedback, learning and progression

Charnwood Arts 2006

.....and then we start all over again...sometimes over years......

This is a diagram which is constantly changing depending on context, the depth required to analyse it and variations in types of organisations. Essentially it talks of five roles which enable the origination, activation, realisation and dissemination of a creative work.....it can apply equally to individual as well as collective work. It is a way of seeing where you are and where you can be in delivering the depth and diversity of collaboration which is possible within various constraints. This includes project timescales, resources, constraints inherent to the art or media form, numbers involved, confidence and stage of development of participants and the constraints imposed by outside forces, such as targets or other expectations of commissioners. Building a project from the ground up, from a community level can be vastly different than responding to or bidding for a commission. It is at the interface between projects seeking funding and commissioners seeking groups to work with that community artists increasingly find themselves operating at. Our role here is of mediation and challenge, helping to define the importance of flexibility and ownership, the value of the experience and process, the power of people making their own choices, the chance to learn the disciplines of making and defining the possibilities of and comfort zones for distribution.

We explored moving from fear through exposing our dreams and our worst nightmares We looked at power with and power over what is good what is bad in our current situation examining the rules and laws internal and external which might keep us there We looked at our fears from a new perspective from a place where there was more than one answer and the capacity to laugh at ourselves We looked at how we can plan to move beyond thought alone of how we can reach our dreams and prevent our nightmares becoming a reality We looked at our determination and our commitment We sought to understand how well we are supported by all thats gone before because commitment and determination are not enough alone We can transform all things when we move together and Make It Happen!

The content of this book was produced in around 8/9 hours through two workshops at the 2011 ICAF gathering in Rotterdam. In all 25 people took part along with Kevin, Natalie and Kate from Charnwood Arts, a lovely film crew on the second day and the wonderful help of the ICAF staff! A big thank you to everyone who contributed and for the invitation to come to the festival with this idea.

Charnwood Arts is core funded by Arts Council England, East Midlands and Charnwood Borough Council