‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts
Widely known to promote broader involvement in the processes which define the arts and culture (Webster, 1997), community engagement work in the performing arts — despite employing a set of commonly recognised norms — has tended to be conceptualised differently both historically and contemporarily....
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| Format: | Article |
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SAGE
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43938/ |
| _version_ | 1848796800952041472 |
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| author | Mutibwa, Daniel H. |
| author_facet | Mutibwa, Daniel H. |
| author_sort | Mutibwa, Daniel H. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Widely known to promote broader involvement in the processes which define the arts and culture (Webster, 1997), community engagement work in the performing arts — despite employing a set of commonly recognised norms — has tended to be conceptualised differently both historically and contemporarily. Drawing on ethnographic research — particularly semi-structured qualitative interview accounts of numerous British practitioners with a track record of work in the sector, the article explores these different conceptualisations. The article finds that it is the actual ‘work that matters’ and not what it is named, and that the diversity of understandings and definitions among sectoral practitioners is reflective of evolving thinking, values and practice, something that may be destabilising for better or worse. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:53:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-43938 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:53:45Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | SAGE |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-439382020-05-04T19:04:22Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43938/ ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts Mutibwa, Daniel H. Widely known to promote broader involvement in the processes which define the arts and culture (Webster, 1997), community engagement work in the performing arts — despite employing a set of commonly recognised norms — has tended to be conceptualised differently both historically and contemporarily. Drawing on ethnographic research — particularly semi-structured qualitative interview accounts of numerous British practitioners with a track record of work in the sector, the article explores these different conceptualisations. The article finds that it is the actual ‘work that matters’ and not what it is named, and that the diversity of understandings and definitions among sectoral practitioners is reflective of evolving thinking, values and practice, something that may be destabilising for better or worse. SAGE 2017-09-03 Article PeerReviewed Mutibwa, Daniel H. (2017) ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts. European Journal of Cultural Studies . pp. 1-17. ISSN 1460-3551 terminology; top-down; jargon; collaboration; participation; education; learning; outreach; audience http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1367549417722107 doi:10.1177/1367549417722107 doi:10.1177/1367549417722107 |
| spellingShingle | terminology; top-down; jargon; collaboration; participation; education; learning; outreach; audience Mutibwa, Daniel H. ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| title | ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| title_full | ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| title_fullStr | ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| title_short | ‘Sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: An exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| title_sort | ‘sell[ing] what hasn’t got a name’: an exploration of the different understandings and definitions of ‘community engagement’ work in the performing arts |
| topic | terminology; top-down; jargon; collaboration; participation; education; learning; outreach; audience |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43938/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43938/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43938/ |