Guest blog by Chris Rolls of 64 Million Artists reflecting on the Community Changemaker training he led for a cohort of our Citizens’ Assembly participants

Creative dialogue leads to good things. And Creative Citizen Changemakers, the result of conversations between Coventry-based Talking Birds and 64 Million Artists, is a fine testament to this. 

Engaging with members of the Citizens’ Assembly set up by Talking Birds during Coventry’s City of Culture year, the training programme was co-devised by the partners to give a diverse group of Coventry locals the confidence and skills to set up their own  creative projects in their local communities.

In four online, and one in-person training sessions facilitated by myself, participants explored topics such as co-creation, accessibility, safeguarding and risk, inclusivity, and project management resources for running different kinds of activities with local citizens.

Participants were based in a range of Coventry wards and brought with them unique expertise in their local areas – their challenges as well as resources. All of them  were energised by the idea of vibrant community engagement across the city, and a will to celebrate  existing culture, as well as identifying gaps where Coventrians might be excluded and fresh opportunities welcomed. It was the diversity of participants’ backgrounds which energised the sessions.

The core principle which informed the training, as well as all those I have designed and delivered for 64 Million Artists over the past seven years, has been co-creation.

Co-creation refers to a collaborative process in which various stakeholders (including community members, organisations, and local authorities) come together to develop innovative solutions and make collective decisions. It encourages active participation, inclusivity, and engagement, ensuring that the voices of all community members are heard and considered.

Co-creation was core to Coventry 2021’s theory of change . It sat at the heart of the City of Culture Trust’s Collaborative City strand of programming and I was lucky enough to chair the Collaborative City Network Group and work with producers to ensure that local citizens were co-shaping projects from initial ideas stage, to the final delivery and evaluation stages of projects.

A messy and often challenging set of practices, co-creation with Coventry Citizens did not always result in glossy outcomes and finished projects (it’s effects are often invisible and relational) but it did create new relationships between citizens and their communities, strengthen networks, and deepen bonds between Coventry organisations. Arguably, this is the most powerful ‘legacy’ of a mega-city project like a City of Culture. (You can read more about the reasons to co-create in a short report I co-authored for Warwick University here.)

Process-driven (rather than outcome-driven) principles shaped Creative Citizen Changemakers. We created a consensual learning contract together. We consciously considered our dimensions of privilege and difference and how this might affect our being together. We prioritised open dialogue, active listening, and collaboration. And we all agreed that taking risks was okay, that there were no such thing as ‘silly’ questions or ideas, and that we all had a right to fail as we played.

In our final, in-person session at the fabulous Nest on Coventry canal, we came together to explore what a creative ‘hub’ could mean in Coventry. We looked at existing models of hubs (including Family Hubs, Wellbeing Hubs and Creative Community Hubs), as well as asking ourselves what our own version of a creative hub might be in Coventry.

Split into two teams, the participants generated ideas for their own pilot hubs, coming up with imaginative and resourceful ideas for providing Coventrians in with creative opportunities. In terms of opening up access, the idea of a mobile tent, or bus (hub on wheels) offering activities for all ages, run by local artists, were explored. We started to explore how we might test this idea in real life … so watch this space!

Creative Citizen Changemakers embodies the values and spirit of Talking Birds, and other Coventry-based individuals and organisations committed to increasing creative opportunities for locals run by locals. To my mind this builds real legacy. It’s about Coventrians taking initiative at home, not waiting for permission, and embodying the change they wish to see in their lives and communities.

The Citizens’ Assembly, Art for the People, was held in 2021 and Talking Birds is currently working with members of the Assembly to push forwards and test out the nine recommendations made. You can find out more about the Assembly here, and read the recommendations here.