There is a lot going on in the world. There are countless conflicts, a climate disaster is looming, and inequality between people is only increasing. More and more artists are trying to shape a future on a different, sustainable basis. Marga Rotteveel, affiliated with the professorship Economy in Common, is one of the people behind SUSTAIN, an investigation into the role of Spacemakers. Spacemakers are parties who want to contribute to system change by making space for art in unusual places, such as within the economy, science or technology. A study Esther Didden was eager to learn more about.
Marga Rotteveel is a lecturer at the Master Institute of Visual Cultures of Avans Hogeschool and from that role as a researcher affiliated with the professorship Economy in Common. This professorship is a collaborative practice where a range of innovative ideas come together. These can be about business and organizational models, economic ecosystems and about pioneering practices and sanctuaries within established companies. It is a place where innovative entrepreneurs, creative minds and doers, students and researchers interact, with the goal of connecting the collection of puzzle pieces that everyone brings in. This creates images of a new economy in the making. In the lectorate, art, science and practice work together.
The researchers also wonder how we can look differently at management and organizational issues
Within the Change Management lectureship of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the focus is not only on The management of change central ("how do we get from A to B?") but the researchers also ask how we can look at management and organizational issues differently. Could we deal with uncertainty, gossip or activism, for example, in other ways within our organizations? And how might we use art to develop other perspectives.
Because the two professorships have similar interests and goals, they decided to conduct joint research on the contribution of art when it comes to visualizing, driving and shaping a world that is virtuous. This research was titled SUSTAIN, short for Sustainable Artistic Innovation. "Spacemakers aim to work toward a sustainable and just society through art, ecologically, economically and socially," Rotteveel says, "they stand with one leg in a studio and the other in a boardroom."
Examining the contribution of art when it comes to visualizing, driving and shaping a world that is virtuous
An example of a Spacemaker is Art Partner. This organization, founded in 2008, aims to mobilize creative thinkers such as theater makers, artists and philosophers, and use artistic interventions as catalysts for change within organizations. They believe that art can reveal the hidden aspects of systems and processes. With their Creative Catalyst Cycle, they develop customized interventions that stimulate profound change in organizations.
Another example is V2_, Lab for the Unstable Media, an interdisciplinary center for art and media technology. Since its founding in 1981, V2_ has provided a platform for artists, designers, and scientists, among others, to present, produce, archive, and publish their work at the intersection of art, technology, and society. V2_ strives to have art and design play an essential role in the social embedding of technological developments.
Marga Rotteveel:
"Spacemakers aim to work for a sustainable and just society, environmentally, economically and socially, through art."
Rotteveel emphasizes that art should emphatically not be used instrumentally: "Art is a domain of knowledge, artists ask for the unknown, they question what seems logical and connect what others seem to exclude. Precisely these qualities are of great importance to realize systemic transitions. Art is not a solving medium."
The field of work of Spacemakers is still relatively unknown; within SUSTAIN, six Spacemakers have been featured. Rotteveel assumes there are more; she hopes the research will lead to more recognition.
In case you are wondering if you are a Spacemaker, you can benefit from the five cahiers compiled by the researchers. The cahiers were written as inspiration for anyone who wants to make space for art. They provide ingredients with which Spacemakers, artists and organizations can develop a narrative together: what change do we want, what is the meaning of art, how can we make the tension between art and other domains work, how do we make space for art and what can that lead to? After all, each Spacemaker has its own story. Each process of Spacemaking has a different dynamic, approach and outcome. Others can also use these cahiers as a source of inspiration on how art can collaborate with other domains and the importance of Spacemakers.
Each process of Spacemaking has a different dynamic, approach and outcome
Education also benefits from the SUSTAIN research. Rotteveel uses the results in her teaching of master's students, where she shows what art can do in transition issues and what they should pay attention to (the use of artists is not a quick fix). The biggest challenge she finds is to make other fields of work aware of the knowledge domain of the arts. "How do I drive that reciprocity?" That's the next step.
More information:
- bwno.co.uk/projects/sustain
- bwno.co.uk/lectures/economics-as-general-good
- lectoraatchangemangement.nl
The SUSTAIN research was conducted by Jacco van Uden (lecturer Change Management), Godelieve Spaas (lecturer Economy in Common), Olga Mink, Marga Rotteveel and Kim Caarls.
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