ARTSFORMATION sought to influence digital policy-making and promote a more humane, democratic digital transformation in Europe through workshops, exhibitions, and educational materials.
The project examined how artistic practices could inform and guide societal transformation in the context of digitalization through literature reviews, field work, and artist interviews, and developed recommendations for empowering artists for the digital transformation. Understanding and documenting how arts-based approaches can contribute to a broader and more inclusive digital transformation and mapping the diverse ways artists and artistic practices interact with digital technologies and societal change was the goal.
It further used an empirical approach to assess the impact of the Arts on digital transformation in public and private businesses. The goal was to assess how artistic interventions affected, drove, and integrated enterprise digital transformation. This involved a comprehensive literature review on the role of the arts in enterprise settings, case studies and workshops with innovative organizations that collaborated with artists, surveys, implementation workshops, and recommendations. The project promoted best practices, innovative solutions, and effective strategies for integrating the arts into digital transformation.
Another focus was on arts-civil society interaction to promote democratic and inclusive digital transformation. The project examined how socially engaged and participatory art affects digitally transformed communities. The team used theoretical and practical research methods to imagine a humane technological future in Europe, focusing on the arts' ability to mediate digital transformation's positive and negative effects on communities. We published literature and case studies and held workshops with artists affecting local communities. The work culminated in a free MOOC titled Art and Technology, launched on Coursera in November 2023.
The project also mobilized diverse practitioners to produce tangible outputs and public events using participatory arts programs. This package brought over 50 European together, for residencies and arts-based participatory interventions. These participants created socially engaged artworks and guidelines for a transnational digital assembly. This assembly now involves over 259 European practitioners in participatory decision-making to mitigate digital transformation's negative effects on marginalized communities. Public deliberation platforms and reports on participatory arts-based programs are exploitable outputs that contribute to the project's legacy and sustainability.
Throught the project, ARTSFORMATION hosted public events and exhibitions on digitalization's social effects, including privacy, surveillance, and technology's exploitation. The initiative held successful exhibitions and performances. The book Control, Refusal, Trust, and Care: A cultural change toolkit was published in summer 2023.
Finally, the project developed impact assessment methods and indicators to measure the arts' influence on policy recommendations. Event, workshop, and Artsformation Summit were organized to discuss project outcomes and future beyond the funded period. This summit in Brussels proved the assessment framework's efficacy and applicability, highlighting its importance in integrating the arts into policymaking.
