Art & People: A Practical Guide To Setting Up And Running Art Projects in the CommunitySecond Edition revised, edited and updated by artist Christine Wilkinson and Rebecca Cairns, Lara Eldridge - Slough Arts Development. Slough Borough Council 2003 ISBN 0904 164071 £12 [£14.88 inc p&p] I found the first edition of Art & People, commissioned by Andy Lee of Slough Borough Council and written by Christine Wilkinson in 1996 to be impressive, but this thoughtfully revised successor, exceeds all my expectations. To paraphrase a current advert for outdoor paints ‘it does what it says on the cover’ providing a step-by-step resource for setting up and running an art project (using any art form), within the community. It is chock-a-block with sound and essential information for people involved in this process. This information is organised into manageable sections, with clear and to the point headings such as ‘Foundations - Getting Focused’ and clear introductions, which are developed into in depth explanations and suggestions. As one who finds it difficult to use only one word when ten will do, I am full of admiration for this writing team, who managed to stuff this guide to the brim with so much pertinent detail and still produce such coherent text, which is easy to read and follows logical and accessible paths. The layout is colourful and easy on the eye and includes many full-page photographs from local projects. In addition, in the Appendix, there is a horde of very useful templates/forms/project proposals, which can be used or adapted for any stage of a project. I would buy it for these alone! I would recommend Art and People to anyone who wants to, or is, working in this area and needs a reliable and reassuring method of checking that none of the eggs they have tossed into the air during a project, hit the floor.
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