Celebrating cultural democracy

Abstract

This chapter contains two case studies which highlight best practice in supporting and celebrating cultural democracy and practical insights for arts programs with young people. The case studies include Propel Youth Arts WA (Western Australia), which is an arts-based youth advocacy organisation, and SWAN Youth Service (Ireland), which devises programs for young people to explore different artistic mediums and processes. SWAN places an importance on the arts as an opportunity for informal education, and its Reckless Arts program, which hosts an artist-in-residence, will be the focus of this case study. Through these exemplars, the value of youth-led arts programming and positioning young people as cultural experts as a way of celebrating cultural democracy within youth arts programs is demonstrated. In this chapter, data from interviews with young people, arts practitioners, festival coordinators, youth workers and project managers is presented in order to celebrate alternative cultural forms through youth-led arts programming.