Practising equality? Issues for co-creative and participatory practices addressing social justice and equality

We increasingly find co-creativity and participation as central aspects of practices across art and design (including architecture). The politics of social justice and equality continue to underlie and inspire these practices. The discourse on Web 2.0 addresses co-creativity and participation, but from quite different perspectives. One of the key aspects of these discourses is the extent to which they recognise context as a critical factor. The other critical factor is the understanding of equality, not in terms of a general social aspiration, but rather as a function within a creative practice. We believe that practices can offer
distinctive understandings to debates on social justice and equality. Practitioners seeking social justice and equality describe the importance of involving participants and co-creators, not through evenness of participation, but rather through discernment opening out to larger audiences.