'Context is half the work'

'Context is half the Work’

The seminar discussion on March 19 was about the importance of understanding the context in which one is working – not only physical, but social, political, cultural, environmental etc. It is about acknowledging, and perhaps using or responding to, the unique circumstances of a particular project and its participants. 

We had a look at the Cape Farewell project (http://www.capefarewell.com) and about the archive of 'disappearances' due to 'climate change'. I noted down some thoughts on the broader context of climate change in my development portfolio. I concluded that it is vital for art and artists to examine a situation dispassionately and carefully and to understand the complete ‘context’ when they become artistically engaged. What taboos could they be reinforcing as well as dismantling by adopting a particular position?

In Project Wild Millbuie I have been keen for the children at Resolis Primary to reach their own conclusions through experience, rather than promoting a particular viewpoint. The immediate context in this case includes:

·       the children (a mix of incomer and local farming families)

·       the teachers - the school is very keen to do work that increases knowledge and understanding of the local area

·       the Resolis community –  mainly local farming families and incomers

·       the Black Isle communities – diverse and difficult to generalize but including traditional fishing, farming, oil rig families, younger incomers, retirees, and I'm sure many others. The Black Isle as a whole is fairly affluent, although there are some slightly poorer areas.

·       The broader political context and the recent windfarm development proposal

I will just touch on the recent ballot on the Black Isle over a proposal for a large wind farm. The results were excellent evidence of how easily communities can be divided. The media coverage gave an indication of a range of different viewpoints, but there was no analysis available as to the proportion of people who voted in a given way for a particular reason. In order to really understand a community context, I think it is important to have an understanding of peoples’ priorities, and not to prejudge or influence the expression of their views. Although this information is not available in this case, the facebook and media discussion around the windfarm proposal provided helpful information about the community context of the Millbuie Forest project, both within the Black Isle and in the broader political context.

Project Wild Millbuie: Stories from the Forest is about enabling relationships to develop between the children and their local forest. One advantage of working with children rather than adults is that their ‘context’ - the way they perceive their world -  is still quite fluid and open, and perhaps more receptive to new possibilities. Nevertheless, some of the farming children may have particular views on foxes or buzzards. Some may have parents who may have been very keen to see a windfarm in the Forest, with its promise of funding a swimming pool. Some will have parents who have never visited the Forest. 

The advantage of working with the children outside, in the Forest itself, is that the Forest is given its own ‘voice’ – the children experience it on their own terms and for themselves. Although the windfarm proposal is part of the underlying context, and some of the children are aware of it, it deliberately does not feature in the discussions around the Forest unless the children raise it themselves. Yet another aspect of the ‘context’ is my own perspective. For me, this kind of development proposal, which fails to recognize the non-monetary attributes of the Forest, is clear evidence that some relationship-building around ‘Place’ would be a positive contribution to inform decision-making. I therefore did some historical research and brought in a local historian and local story teller to speak to the class to give a sense of the ‘Place’ over time, as a complement to the work about the Forest wildlife. However, rather than promoting a clear outcome or position, the purpose of the project is really about building relationships by stimulating creative imagination. There is a possibility that what the children become enthusiastic about in the Forest will be transmitted indirectly to their families and friends too, both through school and through home. There is an intention to repeat a Forest project every year with the school to build up an ongoing relationship with the Millbuie.

So I hope I have had a thorough think about 'context', and I feel I am aware of it as I'm relating to the children. I am also responding less overtly to the broader social and political 'context' in the design and working out of Project Wild Millbuie.