[VIS COMM] Discussion: Volunteering as Art Research Method

‘At Home, Our Magical Wimbledon’ and ‘In Search of Meanwhile Garden’ are 2 volunteering-based site-specific projects. Louise and Lucy both use the act of volunteering as their main research method. Inspired by the process, they have been tailoring the artists’ actions and responses for, in and with the communities. Magically and eventually, both practitioners who are not born and raised in the UK, find the local communities in London that they are strongly bonded with.

Lucy in her project statement mentioned that the ambition of the project is to ​​challenge the existing patterns of making ‘community art’, which are workshops, interviews and photographs. However, Louise adopted all the methods. How have the communities and volunteer groups they involved in reflected on the research method and the tones of the outputs? Are practicality and ethicality in these projects a challenge or a plus? How did they as volunteers overcome or compromise them? Last but not least, what is the role and relationship of an art practitioner when being a volunteer while developing projects?

Working as the host and event facilitator, Louise and Lucy invite peers studying Visual Communication at Royal College of Art to join and discuss how they utilise volunteering as the main art research method in the projects.

By the end of the event, the people and volunteers they work with in their communities are invited to speak, share their thoughts, their stories and ask any questions.