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NATIONAL CONFERENCE Thu 18 & Fr 19 September

Assembly Rooms, Derby
and at venues around the East Midlands

A two day conference exploring the progression and future of community and participatory arts in the UK.

Organised by Mailout in collaboration with the East Midlands Participatory Arts Forum (EMPAF), the conference will explore what we currently need and what issues affect us as a sector. It will explore the pressures that we are under and the possibilities that are on offer. We will look at how we can work together looking at the sense of connection we have as a creative-led sector working across many areas, frequently outside of the arts.

It will provide an opportunity for practitioners and supporters at different levels to share perspectives on the work, develop more effective information exchange and to renew the enthusiasm and sense of purpose, the fire behind the work.

This conference is an opportunity to begin raising the profile of the work from the basis of its intrinsic values and to create a new identity for the independent sector. It will be a vehicle to bring together practitioners and their allies to renew a common cause and provide the focal point for a stronger and more coherent voice for our work.

One of the aims of the conference is to begin a more focused debate to define the future as we would like to see it, and provide the ammunition for us to put our case to significant funding and decision making bodies. Discussions throughout the event will focus on how we articulate this with the rate of change we are currently experiencing.

Day 1 includes:

• visits to community/ participatory arts organisations in the region to look at some of their work and the context in which they operate, alongside practical presentations. The visits will also include targeted themes for discussion to get the second day of the conference off to an enthusiastic and energised start.

Day 2 includes:

• key-note speakers
• practical break-out sessions
• a panel discussion
• opportunities for debate, discussion and networking.