Abstract

Keywords: community arts, cultural gatekeepers, network power, ethics, cultural resistance, software studies, network materiality, Australia

The Community Arts sector in Australia has a history of resistance. It has challenged hegemonic culture through facilitating grassroots creative production, contesting notions of artistic processes, and the role of the artist in society. This paper examines this penchant for resistance through the lens of contemporary digital culture, to establish that the sector is continuing to challenge dominant forms of cultural control. It then proposes that this enthusiasm and activity lacks ethical direction, describing it as feral to encompass the potential of current practices, while highlighting how a level of taming is needed in order to develop ethical approaches.

• Pip Shea, School of Media, Entertainment, Creative Arts, Queensland University of Technology, AU

Full text (PDF) p. 327-329