Art and Design: Catalysts for Systems Change
‘Nothing can change humanity’s basic needs, but art can change our desires, which are the source of most of our impact on the Earth’s environment and biological diversity’ — Minik Rosing, 2021
Our world is growing in complexity and numerous agendas compete for our attention, our compassion and our action. With information and marketing at our fingertips, and in our feeds 24/7 what will cut through, and help people to connect with relevant ideas in order to create meaningful change, or simply leave a lasting impact?
At The Liminal Space, using arts based approaches has been fundamental to our approach since our inception — we believe that sensory, creative methods connect people to human truths, build empathy across divides and enable deeper engagement with the issues that are transforming society. Our show-don’t-tell approach, underpinned by a multidisciplinary creative practice, helps people to understand, reflect, discuss and take action.
At the heart of this is storytelling. Boardroom presentations and policy whitepapers quantify and summarise the issues of the day — whether the alarming need for ecological action, the cost of living crisis, or the impact of technology on our lives. Creative storytelling, however, bears witness to the individual lives lived and affected by these issues, helping us step into and make sense of possible futures and our place within them, and giving us the tools to imagine and create better.
In Unclaimed, at Barbican, we created a fictional Lost Property office that used sound, space and surprise to lead people on an imaginative journey to think differently about ageing today. Our research with UKRI for the museums and cultural sector emphasised how creating Meaningful Experiences is critical for cultural and heritage spaces to remain relevant for audiences by helping them navigate our changing world.
Shifting perceptions
We have been working with SHiFT — a charity who gets alongside young people and their families who are caught up in the destructive cycle of crime, enabling them to break the cycle through the support of dedicated guides.
They have compelling results to share: participation in SHiFT will cost just £16,000 a year, in contrast with the £76,000 spent on keeping a child in a Young Offenders’ Institution — but the value they deliver on a human level is held in the intangible, in the nuance of their expertise and the trusting relationships they build.
In Shifting Perceptions, we tell the story of their work and impact through the voices of the young people and the SHiFT guides who work with them.
Three walk-in installations recreate familiar locations, enabling visitors to understand how real children and their families have been supported to break the destructive cycles. A mother’s voice emanates from a football floating above an astroturf pitch, recalling how her son’s determination, with help from his guide, has challenged every assumption that he would never get back to school. Provocations in the space ask us to consider our own upbringing and support systems: Who stayed up to make sure you were home safe? Who helped you to say sorry?
As these enveloping stories unfold, the essence of SHiFT’s mission comes to life to inspire advocacy, action and investment from stakeholders, policymakers and funders.
Inspiring examples across the field
The impact of this type of experience, connecting to the big issues and radical opportunities of our age, is being deployed across sectors to get people to sit up and notice. Social issues have been placed front and centre by brands through surprising interventions, such as IKEA installing a replica of a tumbledown refugee dwelling in Syria, in one of their Norway stores, challenging customers to think about their relationship to home and the privilege of their relative safety. Greater Manchester Authority used Legislative Theatre — a creative improvisation process — to bring people with lived experience of homelessness and policy makers together to co-develop new policy and service ideas for their future civic strategy. And we have seen shifts from within the art and cultural sector too, with the Turner Prize increasingly recognising the socially engaged practices of collaborative groups like Assemble and Array Collective, signalling that these approaches are migrating into the mainstream.
The power of art and design
Whether the aim is to raise awareness, build deeper connections, obtain new insights, empower people, or simply to leave them feeling more hopeful, art and design helps us tell the stories, ignite the imaginations, stir the emotions and cultivate the mindsets that lead to agency and action — on an individual, organisational and system-wide level.
In our 10th year of practice in this domain, we are continually breaking new ground with forward thinking organisations who want to pioneer novel ways to engage more people, more profoundly. Drop us a line to discuss how we can help address your challenge.
Shifting Perceptions exhibition is open from 22nd-26th June 11am-6pm at Gallery OXO, London.
Want to join the discussion?
We’ve launched a new series of collaborative conversations exploring cutting edge approaches to designing for social impact called The Liminal Space Convenes. The first in the series, Art and Design: A Catalyst for Systems Change, will take place at Shifting Perceptions on Friday 24th June. If are interested in attending please drop us a line: maddie@the-liminal-space.com
