Resisting Inequalities through a Global Arts Network: Online and offline barriers to and facilitators of connection and impact

Much has been made of the power of digital networks to connect people who would not otherwise be able to build diverse, collaborative knowledge exchange opportunities. It has been argued that this type of connective action has generated possibilities for deeper and broader impact, though with considerable limitations based on local and global power dynamics. However, other research has shown that access and ability to engage with digital environments are not equally distributed, limiting the potential to use platforms to create, access, and distribute content, in particular when it is anti-establishment or presents marginalised voices and experiences.  

This project will study the development of an international network of arts and community organisations which use the arts to challenge hierarchies and structures of inequalities in their local contexts. We will develop a series of participatory arts productions and collaborations, accessible online and hybrid platforms for remote collaboration, live performance events within communities, and in-person exchanges. Through this process, LSE researchers and AFSEE Fellows, in collaboration with co-investigators from Samata Arts Collective, will study how digital networks can facilitate or hinder these initiatives and bring their work to a broader audience of citizens and stakeholders.