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This paper examines the potential of co-produced arts-based methodologies through the lens of a social cohesion project, from the perspectives of five artists. Arts methodologies can be useful in working across different disciplines and across university and community boundaries to create equitable knowledge production processes. The ways in which art is used in community settings as a mode of collaboration are explored, using the reflections from five artists who were involved in the social cohesion project together. This paper argues that co-producing artistic approaches to social cohesion is a complex, multilayered and sometimes fragile process, but that recognizing and discussing understandings of the role of power and voice within co-produced projects enables effective team communication.

This paper considers research into civil society’s visions of a good society. In the context of this research, a good society was understood to be visions for society that included a variety of alternatives to the current neoliberal hegemony. These visions of a good society ranged from increased state intervention to place-based community level visions for society. Creative challenges were developed using creative participatory research approaches which are described below. These were framed around three core requests to civil society: to grow, encourage and converse. These core requests aim to empower the development of a broad solidarity of human values. This paper uses the theoretical perspectives of cultural, social, community and human capitals (Bourdieu, 1984; Flora and Flora, 2008; Putnam, 1995) to critically evaluate the creative challenges that have been developed by participatory research with civil society groups. The paper seeks to critically evaluate civil society’s visions of a good society, and to frame a counter-narrative to neoliberalism, which reflect creative challenges; to grow and encourage a civil society ‘field’ (Bourdieu, 1984).

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