The Arndale of Community Work
I completely understood where she was coming from. The job of community work is very practical and everyone is overstretched anyway – why devote energy and time to making this happen if there is no apparent outcome? Why should her centre help us in some research project, that has no benefit. She understood CN4M very well. She was in favour of CN4M – they have provided funding for her volunteering programme, but didn’t see why users of her centre needed to know that.
I admitted to Janet that actually there was no “outcome” of this, that we weren’t looking to provide a service or offer solutions. I didn’t know if the art work would be enjoyed or ignored. I didn’t know if CN4M had any relevance to local people and I wasn’t setting out to promote CN4M. If awareness of it was created then that would be good – but why? I wasn’t sure.
Talking to Janet struck a lot of chords for me. She could have made an appointment to see me at another time, but she dropped everything to spend half an hour with me. She was evidently very busy and told me a number of times – so I felt bad that she’d dropped everything. I tried to say, I could come back another time, but she insisted. As I’d interrupted anyway, she may as well stop. I saw myself in many situations doing the same, when people appear out of the blue – it’s a not wanting to disapoint people and also a slightly matryred attitude (guilt tripping creates a sense of power?). She wanted to help but as I say, and she was very earnest in questioning the project – which I found very helpful….
Janet pointed me at the Wythenshawe Forum centre, who would have more space and seemed more recognised as an exhibition space (I used to cycle there as a child to swim) – its now a large indoor precinct run by Wythenshawe Trust. The Forum has a leisure centre/gym, library, theatre, walk-in health clinic, café, education, and child care centres….all under one roof, and all overseen by a security company. Unlike the outside, this felt new, vibrant and busy – a bit like the Arndale centre of community work…A friendly receptionist phoned Bob, the manager of the centre who very welcomingly offered to host the artwork – this centre seemed inappropriate for Andrew’s game – but ideal for Joes long pasting tables…..
