AMASS Policy White Paper: Suggestions for Stakeholders and Policymakers based on the Findings of the AMASS Project

Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture
(AMASS) is an EU Horizon 2020 research
project funded under the theme of Societal
Challenges and the Arts, which focuses on the
cultural rights perspective of marginalisation
and its effects on other forms of exclusion
in Europe. Using arts-based interventions,
this project aims to address marginalisation
challenges through community involvement
and community building.
This white paper compiles the outcomes
of research studies and previous arts
interventions (Section One) and the European
testbed of arts-based interventions (Section
Two). These insights form the basis of
the identified needs and corresponding
recommendations, which can be read in
Section Three. Below is a summary of the
sections.
As part of the AMASS project, qualitative and
systematic literature reviews were performed
to understand the current research discourse
on the assessment of arts-based interventions
with a social focus in Europe. According to our
analysis, culture and the arts are framed as
participatory, sometimes therapeutic, means
of empowering individuals and communities
to assert agency over their own lives, develop
and express their identities and strengthen
local learning and development initiatives.
Our results also point to effects that can be
problematised as negative, such as the social
reproduction of dominant groups’ values
and practices at the expense of marginalised
groups. Thus, the arts are not a given good but
can depend on context. Previous arts-based
interventions often lacked the personnel and
financial resources to continue after the end
of the funding period. In many cases, the
assessment of project results was anecdotal or
lacking. As a result, the power of the arts for
social well-being and cultural integration could
not be convincingly revealed.
The AMASS European testbed included
35 arts-based case studies to evaluate the
impact of these approaches in addressing
marginalisation. The outcomes of these
testbeds were compiled around tasks designed
to achieve the following:
1. Develop and sustain innovative artsbased
projects
2. Collect, analyse and evaluate data to
measure the impact of the projects
3. Encourage active participation as an
added value
4. Promote networking and new modes of
dissemination to increase impact
5. Sustainable use of public spaces to
engage communities
6. Renew the promotion of culture using
technology
7. Support cognitive development through
art education