MIAAW.net

About MIAAW.net

once a week audio essays, conversations and discussions about cultural democracy, community-based art, and the commons.

Publisher

Arlene Goldbard | Sophie Hope | Owen Kelly | François Matarasso

Category

society & culture · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Oct 2018

Latest episode

6 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

311 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Mar 2026

   Conscious Consumption

   Owen Kelly has heard the terms “conscious consumption” and “ethical consumption” thrown around a lot recently. In this episode he tries to find out whether or not they count as synonyms, and whether or not the terms add any real value to our discussions, and to ideas of cultural democracy. Meanwhile in an Abandoned Warehouse MARCH 6 | SERIES 2026 | EPISODE 84 PARTICIPANTS Owen Kelly COMMENTARY Owen Kelly has heard the term “conscious consumption” thrown around a lot recently. He has also heard people talk about “ethical consumption”, and started to wonder about whether or not they should count as synonyms. In this episode he delves into their history and, with his tinfoil hat on, asks whether they constitute a giant diversionary tactic aimed at keeping people busy while discouraging them from seeking the changes that will actually “make a difference”. They act as nouns when we ought to try to find verbs that describe what we can do, rather than label another imaginary object to join the legion that we can see all around us, weighing us down and separating us. REFERENCES Conscious Consumerism: What Is It? Where Did It Come From? https://builtin.com/articles/conscious-consumerism Why Is Conscious Consumption so Important?https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/question/why-is-conscious-consumption-so-important/ Sian Wilkerson: How can I practice conscious consumption? https://news.vcu.edu/article/2024/08/how-can-i-practice-conscious-consumption What is the difference between ethical consumption and conscious consumption? https://bromundlaw.com/social-issues/ethical-consumption-vs-conscious-consumption How Does Ethical Consumerism Relate to Conscious Consumption? https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/question/how-does-ethical-consumerism-relate-to-conscious-consumption/ Why there is no “ethical consumption” under capitalism https://www.marxist.ca/article/why-there-is-no-ethical-consumption-under-capitalism

2. 

   27 Feb 2026

   Disrupt

   Sophie, Jo, and guests, discuss power sharing, community leadership, governance structures, co-creation, longitudinal evaluation, anti-oppressive working practices, and communities of practice. Echoes and the Unsaid EPISODE 02 | FEBRUARY 27 | 2026 PARTICIPANTS Jo Gibson | Sophie Hope COMMENTARY In this episode, Sophie and Jo talk to Jo Chard, Senior Producer for Disrupt at Guildhall School;  Divya Satwani, producer, Somatic coach and facilitator; Alan Lane, co-chair of Slung Low, a theatre company in Leeds; and Maia Mackney, Public Engagement and Evaluation Manager at Guildhall School. We talk about their involvement in Disrupt, an ongoing series of interventions, initiated in 2020 at Guildhall School, to explore ways in which cultural organisations collaborate with communities more equitably. We discuss power sharing, community leadership, governance structures, co-creation, longitudinal evaluation, anti-oppressive working practices, communities of practice and more!  Thanks go to all our podcast contributors and to Iona McTaggart, who couldn’t join us for this episode, and everyone else who has been part of Disrupt over the years. REFERENCES Disrupt Toolkit: https://www.disruptfestival.org/toolkit Slung Low https://www.slunglow.org/ Sharing power: the ethics of decision making and funding article by Maia Mackney and Jo Chard https://ncace.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NCACE-Research-Report-Collaborations.pdf Old Fire Station Storytelling Evaluation Method: https://oldfirestation.org.uk/our-work/storytelling-evaluation-methodology/ Cards on the Table: https://www.cardsonthetable.org/ Barbican Communities and Neighbourhoods Team – Imagine Fund https://www.barbican.org.uk/imagine-fund-2024 Leytonstone Love Film: https://www.barbican.org.uk/leytonstone-loves-film-community-fund Community Impact Collective: https://www.barbican.org.uk/community-impact-collective Headway East: https://headwayeastlondon.org/ Jumped Up Theatre: https://jumpeduptheatre.com/ Can we talk about power? Online talk series curated by Suzanne Alleyne: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2021/event/can-we-talk-about-power

3. 

   20 Feb 2026

   Journey to ICAF

   This month in A Culture of Possibility Eugene van Erven discusses his adventures in international popular theatre: adventures that carried him on a journey that led to the founding of ICAF in Rotterdam. A CULTURE OF POSSIBILITY EPISODE 61 | FEBRUARY 20 | 2026 PARTICIPANTS Eugene van Erven | Arlene Goldbard | François Matarasso COMMENTARY On episode 61 of A Culture of Possibility cohosts Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk with Eugene van Erven, a founder of The International Community Arts Festival (ICAF) in Rotterdam, the 10th edition of which is coming right up in March. There’s still time to register! Eugene talks about his long and varied adventures in international popular theater leading to the creation of ICAF, offering a fascinating and inspiring account of a life dedicated to cultural democracy. BOOKS by Eugene van Erven 1988 Radical People’s Theatre. Indiana University Press 1992 The Playful Revolution. Theatre and Liberation in Asia. Indiana University Press 2001 Community Theatre, Global Perspectives. Routledge 2012 Community Arts Dialogues. Treaty of Utrecht Foundation REFERENCES ICAF Rotterdam: https://icafrotterdam.com/ Eugene’s blog: https://eugenevanerven.wordpress.com/

Who has been a guest on MIAAW.net

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Anthony Schrag
• John Phillips
• Belinda Kidd
• Clementine Sandison

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 40 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

67

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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