Digital ARTS PROJECT: Sustaining and producing cultural realities
Sustaining and producing cultural realities is a digital arts project aims to create a creative space where young people from traditionally nomadic communities can experiment with representations of their cultures and personal identities. Young people are able to engage critically with ideas around how these might be shared or represented using innovative media and designing digital narratives.
Producing and sustaining cultural realities
Within Gypsy/Traveller communities some hold the view that many aspects of their lives, culture and traditions are neither represented, understood nor respected in the school curriculum (STEP 2024). On the other hand, some suggest that highlighting these personal and shared aspects has the potential to attract discrimination or foster negative cultural stereotypes (Gould, 2017). The project aims to create a forum where young people can experiment with representations of their cultures and place and engage critically with ideas around representations beyond their culture. They will collaborate with a practising digital and visual artists using methods that will encourage experimentation and dialogue.
Co-producing digital narratives using PAR
The study will employ a participatory arts research (PAR) approach, ensuring that the young participants are active co-designers. The approach democratises the research process, in this case valuing diverse forms of Gypsy/Traveller cultural knowledge and positions participants as active co-creators of meaning with power over project outputs. The young people will collaborate with practising artists to: explore their own cultures, interests and identities through visual and digital media; co-produce imagery that reflects the material spaces in their lives—traditional and contemporary; share the results to provide social and critical commentary that may inspire reflection within or out with their communities.
Research questions
The study will investigate the following three research questions:
1.How do young people reflect on visual representations of their contemporary lives?
2.How do young peeple identify with traditional customs and aspects of their lives?
3.How do young people manage how they are perceived within and out with their culture?
Artist in residence Megan Rudden
Glasgow-based artist and writer Megan Rudden takes up residence in Fife over Autumn/Winter 25/26 as part of the Digital Arts project. Megan will work with young people from the Gypsy/Traveller community using digital art to explore how the communities are portrayed in the media and to consider how to challenge cultural stereotypes. Young people will engage in conversations about ethics, consent and sharing of digital media on digital channels and social media platforms.
Visual explorations
Young people were prompted to think about and experiment with ideas of art, culture, identity and perceptions.
