Culture and arts facilitators play a central role in the implementation of AoP programmes as culture and arts are the essences of the programmes. It’s important that the culture and arts facilitators are motivated and interested in applying activities to the programme’s target audience. It is also important they have the skills and the willingness to adapt and modify the activities to the needs of the target audience.
It is the link worker’s task to seek culture and arts facilitators who have expertise or wish to work with the target audience and be introduced to AoP programme concept and gain a shared understanding of the AoP programme.
To get in touch with or gain the interest of culture and arts facilitators may require contact to personnel from the culture sector to guide you towards various cultural institutions/actors in the municipality or region. Other means of gaining interest from culture, and arts facilitators in your AoP programme can be to issue an open call or a procurement proposal.
“Contact through a culture facilitators network – it may be possible you have a network or NGO of local culture and arts facilitators in your local area. This can be a good starting point and main access point to local cultural actors and artists”. Westpromerianian AoP pilot programme.
It is preferable culture and arts facilitator have expertise and passion in one or more of categories that can be included in the AoP programme such as, art, music, theatre literature etc. Culture and arts facilitators should embrace and engage persons with mental health issues, and who may have little knowledge or prior experience of culture and arts.
Photo: Odense Municipality – A culture facilitator with AoP participants on a historical city walk.
When developing activities for the programme, it is important to collaborate closely with the culture and arts facilitators to ensure the activities are appropriate for the target audience. This is to make certain the activities are not technically difficult for the target audience or could trigger difficult emotional situations for some participants.
Also consider the target audience, when choosing culture and arts facilitators. It is important the culture and arts facilitators are comfortable with facilitating for certain target audience. Likewise, it is important the target audience is comfortable with the culture and art facilitator.
The roles and task of the culture and arts facilitator is to create culture and arts activities that appeal to the target audience. The culture and arts facilitators, together with the link worker, creates a safe and encouraging environment where all participants are considered and treated equal.