Reflecting on Social Making 2024 at St Anne’s House
10 & 11 October, 2024.
We were delighted to be chosen to host this year’s Social Making Symposium at St Anne’s House, an event filled with energy, ideas, and rich connections. Every two years, Social Making brings together a diverse community of artists, funders, organisations, and thinkers to explore and challenge the landscape of Socially Engaged Arts (SEA) practice*. This year, the event felt particularly timely and urgent, with post-pandemic shifts still reverberating through our communities.
* Socially Engaged Arts is a form of art practice that emphasises collaboration, interaction, and community involvement. It focuses on addressing social issues, fostering dialogue, and creating a meaningful impact by engaging directly with communities, often through participatory projects or actions. The SEA sector brings together artists, organisations, funders, and others who are committed to using art as a tool for social change, empowerment, and community-building.
The two-day event was a vibrant exchange of thought-provoking conversations, workshops, and provocations, sparking connections and collaborations that could shape the future of SEA. Hosting it at St Anne’s House was a deliberate choice by organisers Take A Part, bringing national and international perspectives into conversation amongst our local community. The symposium highlighted the power of collective decision-making and offered an inspiring glimpse into how shared innovations in practice can lead to real, grassroots change.
We are grateful to everyone who participated, from the incredible speakers to the engaged delegates, for making Social Making 2024 a resounding success. The insights and relationships formed here will hopefully continue to ripple through the SEA sector, pushing us toward more ethical, inclusive, and impactful practices. Here’s to the brilliant minds and thoughtful exchanges that have made this year’s gathering so memorable!
This lightweight artistic intervention, allowed time to take a breather and think with your hands for a moment. This workshop involved light interactions with painting, crafting, thinking, digesting & sharing.
An entertaining quiz night with creative rounds led by local artists associated with Bricks, including Claudia Collins, Buoys Buoys Buoys & Dorcas Casey.
the city with PRIMEdesign (Ben Borthwick)
and Léo Valls
Take A Part approach Workshop with Anneliese Kesteven and Gemma Smith
To find out more about the speakers and contributors please take a look at the brilliant programme that happened during the two days here.
More about Take A Part CIO:
Take A Part are the UK’s leading socially engaged art (SEA) organisation, dedicated to supporting, furthering and sustaining SEA practice, community co-creation and community embedding placemaking in the UK.
“We take a community-first approach to culture, supporting areas and people underrepresented and underserved in our society to develop cultural confidence, advocacy and skills to take action on change in their own communities through culture.“
Social Making – Podcast ep from the event
Episode O2:
Live from the coffee break – Social Making delegates’ thoughts.
This podcast series comprises 7 episodes exploring the context of Social Making 2024 and the future of the UK’s socially engaged arts scene.
The series is available on the Social Making website at MIAAW.net along with episode notes that include references and links to the source material and other relevant documentation on the web. The episodes will also be available for subscription at most major podcast sites including Anchor.fm, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Soundcloud and more. Listen here.
If you’d like to collaborate with us on a similar event, please get in touch: We’re always looking for partners to start up meaningful conversations and opportunities.
Hire our space: St Anne’s House provides the perfect setting for multi-room gatherings, offering blank, versatile spaces that are ideal for workshops, talks, and creative events. Whether you’re planning a symposium, a community workshop, or an artistic collaboration, our rooms are available to hire, and we’d love to help bring your ideas to life. Let’s work together to create impactful events.
Developed and delivered by Take A Part CIO, hosted by Bricks, Bristol at St Anne’s House.
Generously supported by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is an international foundation promoting the development of individuals and organisations through art, science, education, and charity, for a more equitable and sustainable Society.
