Journal of Arts & Communities - Volume 3, Issue 3, 2011

The dominance of autoethnography has obscured a measured evaluation of the compatibility of autoethnographic research with its subject matter, and also of the research value of predominantly personal narratives – those stories by researchers who locate and regard themselves as the research subject and who then write evocative stories of their experiences. These are often the most difficult forms for autoethnography to accommodate, relying as they do on experience reading as its own analysis and diary-like description of the researcher/writer’s life standing for a retelling that provides an adequate informing of our understanding of a particular cultural context. It can be hard to distinguish these stories from autobiography. In these cases, autoethnography often appears to be used as little more than a relatively research-friendly term, as something that sounds more academically legitimate than autobiography but which has more in common with drawing the reader into the researcher’s own life than using one’s culturally located experiences as something that opens a door onto wider understanding.

Although there is now an accepted need for initiatives that support older people’s well-being, little attention has been paid to what constitutes effective leadership of such activities. This research explored perceptions of effective leaders of musical activities with older people. Three case study sites engaged with the research that drew on the views of participants, music leaders and stakeholders in the field through the use of questionnaires, individual interviews, focus group interviews and group work in a consultative conference. Overall, being a ‘good leader’ was thought to involve being knowledgeable, patient, positive, enthusiastic and having a sense of humour in order to create a relaxing atmosphere. Participants indicated that successful facilitators responded to their needs, motivated them and encouraged them to continue participating in the activities through supportive feedback, good pacing of the sessions and focused attention. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications.

This article provides a reflection on my past practice as Creative Director of The Mixed Peppers Theatre Arts Training Programme. Drawing upon discourses of Disability Studies it considers how this ostensibly emancipatory project that sought to provide access to theatre activity for young people with physical disabilities living in Northern Ireland was flawed, and was eventually disbanded, partly due to a failure on the part of its non-disabled leadership to address imbalances of power in its relationship with its young disabled constituency. The article is framed within a survey of recent debates that focus upon the historical lack of a sustained, indigenous, disability-led theatre activity in Northern Ireland and the recent efforts by non-disabled professional arts practitioners to establish such activity in the region. It offers, as an exemplar to current discussion, an analysis of how the choice and agency of the young members of The Mixed Peppers were compromised by the well-meaning but potentially oppressive practices of its leadership. It questions whether the project was unduly influenced by parental desire to see their disabled children ‘normalized’ in a high-profile theatrical production. Finally, it considers how The Mixed Peppers’ institutional situation, as a project controlled and administered by a disability charity, was implicated in the premature demise of the initiative.

The hospital is seen as a community in which the arts have a role to play. Whilst the arts in hospitals have been perceived as adjunctive, there is now medical health research to support their practice, representing a shift in the paradigm between arts and health. We understand that adolescence is a period of transition and the arts provide a metaphor when language has not necessarily yet been found to articulate those changes. Set within a hospital, it is important to establish that the Youth Arts programme is seen as a normalizing process for its participants, and whilst not adhering to overt therapeutic models, contributes to well-being and continued development. Youth Arts reflects the health determinants of social inclusion and contribution valued as part of its core practice, offering the adolescent community a creative voice in a complex setting. This article explores the role of engagement in the practice of the Youth Arts programme, and how it contributes to individual well-being and the health of the hospital community.