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“We are witnessing a fundamental change in how individuals can interact with their democracy and experience their role as citizens.  Ideal citizens need not be seen purely as trying to inform themselves about what others have found, so that they can vote intelligently.  They need not be limited to reading the opinions of opinion makers and judging them in private conversations.  They are no longer constrained to occupy the role of mere readers, viewers, and listeners.  They can be, instead, participants in a conversation.” – Yochai Benkler, The Wealth of Networks  Read More »

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Submitted by Andrew Hare on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 19:43.
Author: 
Tatyana Varshavsky
Abstract: 
Cultural participation is seen, and has been shown to be, something of a proxy measurement for civic engagement.  Participation in the arts reinforces aspects of social cohesion and the building of community and cooperation.  In an ideal world, intercultural understanding and diversity are not far behind.  Due to the interdisciplinary focus of both terms, defining cultural participation and civil society is no easy matter. Cultural participation is key to the “good life” that civil society strives to achieve, while the twin freedoms of speech and expression are intimately tied to the foundations of a participatory democracy.  The author of this paper specifically engages with the following questions: (1) What implications does cultural participation – in terms of citizens’ active engagement in the arts in their communities – have for democracy?, and (2) How do recent and current national multimedia projects engage cultural participation, and what can we learn from them?
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