1 Introduction
The field of visual arts in Malaysia for the past two decades has been enriched by various new approaches. Locally and internationally, contemporary art hasshown a tendency toward participatory art, which is broadly defined as audience involvement in art production. It is often motivated by a greater democratization of art and the destabilization of groups of people producing works of art [1]. This trend includes community-driven projects such as Project Dialog's Merata Suara (2018), curated by Suzy Sulaiman, Pillars of Sabah (2019, 2020, 2021) by Inus, a Sabahan artist [2], Route to Rural Arts Experience by National Art Gallery Malaysia through Hujung Tanah Art Residency [3] based in Johor, and some projects under Lostgen's Kuala Lumpur-based group, which focuses on engaging the public to be involved in art projects like the Bukit Cina Community Art Project, the Kampung Cempaka Community Art Project, the Pudu Community Art Project, and more.
Community art projects have also been carried out through collaborations between art institutions, visual artists, and members of selected communities. One example is Projek Komuniti Kita (Our Community Project) in an urban poor housing area in Kuala Lumpur called Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR). According to Hasimi [4], the initiative to bring the arts and cultural activities into this Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) area can help reduce unhealthy activities among the residents in the area. This is in line with the call by Khalid Abdul Samad, the former Minister of Federal Territories, to large companies, developers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to play a role in realizing such an initiative. In addition, there are also community programs that are organized yearly, such as Lendu International Art Camp (LIAC). This camp has been conducted since 2013. According to Ibrahim et al. [5], LIAC's foundation provides 'art for society', seeking to generate benefits in the form of social capital and the involvement of a network of social connections or relationships and social unity within the community involved.
In relation to this, several terms are used to represent community or audience engagement through art, such as 'co-creation', 'participatory art', 'socially engaged art', 'social practice art', and others. However, the present study solely focused on the concept of co-creation, while exploring the relationship between the arts and co-creation and past projects that have used the co-creation method with selected communities. A preliminary discussion and theorization will also be presented. The objective was to build a strong argument for an in-depth study of implementing co-creation in a particular community. This research found that co-creation can contribute to reducing the gaps between those who can produce art and society, especially through the participation of 'non-art affiliated' communities and artistic excellence.
2 The Relationship between Visual Art & Co-creation
The co-creation concept was first formulated in the field of marketing and customer research. It emphasizes customer interaction and brand development. According to Nonaka [6], people are often connected via social interaction, and an organization constantly trusts communities or customers to be part of creating a brand's meaning. The process of interaction between an organization and stakeholders creates meaning. Galvagno and Dalli assert that co-creation
represents a shift in the management literature, where customers and companies are permitted to jointly create value through collaboration and communication [7]. The term co-creation has been extensively used to differentiate the transition of ideas from organizations as value determinants to more participatory processes, where people and organizations jointly produce and construct meaning [8]. Therefore, in the field of business, co-creation is aimed at gaining opportunities for insights, new products, and development of services. Cocreation in this context can be read as an outcome of the capitalist economy.
Visual artists have also collaborated with communities in the production of artworks. Matarasso states that the term co-creation has emerged within the debate of participatory art [9]. Yet, he does not give a clear explanation of what co-creation specifically means. He refers to participatory art as a creative practice that involves others in an artist's creative process. He further argues that if the definition of participatory art refers to the act of allowing others to become coartists or co-authors, it will also be fair to call it co-creation. He poses a question on the nature and degree of creativity of those invited to co-create. Matarasso's argument somehow shows that even though the term co-creation originates from the field of marketing, it is based on a similar concept as participatory art. The difference between participatory art and co-creation, according to Matarasso, is that the former gives people the chance to be a part of something that is already present while the latter involves an artist and a cultural institution in the planning stage.
Meanwhile, participatory art covers a wide range of creativities across many art forms, scales, and costs [10]. Warmsley [11] states that this diversity perhaps explains Browns' assertion that the "terminology surrounding arts participation is in a state of flux". Brown et al. [10] further state that, generally, there is no set of terms that has been accepted to describe artistic participation, but the phrases and vocabulary describe how people contribute and demonstrate their creativity and share insight. The term 'co-creation' is "based on research with more than 100 organizations actively engaged in participatory arts" [11]. Meanwhile, Brown interpreted the term as an activity in which an audience or community contributes to art curated by a professional artist. This definition was supported by Govier [12], who states that co-creation is a collaborative journey initiated by providers to create something new together. The notion of co-creation according to Gemma and Edgar [13] must involve 'co', or working with others, in the process of 'creation' as a form of creativity. They argued that 'co-creation' is a method or way to produce, with the understanding that co-creation involves collective creativity. The creation is not just a matter of collaboration to create a space of expression and interaction, but it must also solve certain problems in the community. In this logic, the new creation does not only need to be original, but it should also have a quality consisting of the elements of beauty, efficiency, usefulness, and grace [14].
In addition, co-creation as defined by Galvagno and Dalli [7] refers to collaboration in the production of new symbolic and material meaning and its value. Participatory art or co-creation is the same if it emphasizes interaction and direct involvement in the process of making an artwork. In addition, according to Mat [15] there are several definitions pertaining to the term 'co-creation', whereby the meaning is not much different from 'socially-engaged art'. Both terms emphasize social change through collaboration between a community, individuals, and institutions in the context of participatory art, where the process of art-making is valued over the final outcome. Cochran [16] stressed that participatory art involves creativity and the nature of people to explore large ideas compared to a single artist working within the limit of one man's perspective. Ind and Coates [8] noted that the idea of co-creation is not just a matter of creating and producing something. It is also related to interpretation and meaning production. Meaning is always created jointly. In the context of the arts, meaning and interaction are crucial. Therefore, co-creation and the arts can be linked together, and it is relevant when we think about togetherness and the need for engagement implicit in the creative process. In this sense, the co-creation method needs to be studied thoroughly because it carries great potential in synergizing the arts with the general public or society at large.
The present study's objective was not to denigrate the role of participatory art but rather to investigate another method. As Lee [1] has stated, participatory art as an ideal of serving people through art is open to critical analysis. It fails to materialize substantial, lasting changes. Co-creation can potentially be a suitable method to provide a mutual benefit between artists and communities. Therefore, the potential of the co-creation method needs to be explored and several past projects need to be re-visited, surveyed, and studied.
3 Methodology
In this study, a qualitative method was used to obtain data related to the experiences and interpretations of the participants to the project. Therefore, the approach used in this study for data collection was participant observation. According to Kawulich [17], participant observation can be used in a variety of disciplines as an instrument to obtain qualitative data about society. In addition, data was collected through unstructured interviews and documentation notessuch as photographs, videos, drawings, and artifacts. In thisstudy, the researchers were active participants in the Usungan Parade co-creation project. An usungan, or palanquin, is a chair mounted between two poles that is used to carry a person of status in a parade, in this case, participants of a Quran recitation in Kabong,
Sarawak, East Malaysia [15]. The Usungan Parade co-creation project served as a case study for participant observation to explore the co-creation method. This study was conducted in two phases as specified in Table 1 and 2.
Table 1 Usungan Parade co-creation project.
| Phase 1 | Activity |
|---|---|
| 19-25 | Co-creation activities: ice-breaking, discussion, sketching, |
| November 2018 | drawing, usungan making, documentation (video, photographs) |
Phase 1 consisted of a case study – observing, co-creating, facilitating, and interviewing. Co-creation was used to help ten families in Kabong (village) to produce a palanquin (usungan). According to Ind and Coates [8], co-creation is collaboration in the development of new value, for example, solutions, products, concepts, and services, with experts and stakeholders such as customers, communities, suppliers, and so on. The co-creation method requires all participants to be involved in the art-making process. Therefore, we designated several participating families in Kabong to assist in crafting an usungan. Through a preliminary study, we found out that there were several problems that needed to be addressed:
- 1. The design of the usungan or stretcher had to be recorded and documented because no proper or professional documentation was available.
- 2. No preliminary sketches for the production of the usungan were available.
- 3. The materials initially used to produce the usungan were impractical, i.e., too heavy to be carried.
- 4. The practice of the usungan parade is increasingly forgotten and needed to be documented.
This phase involved collaborative work between professional artist-researchers (artists, photographers, videographers, and curators) and the community in Kabong to take part in the jointly making of the usungan. The artist-researchers assisted by documenting the usungan designs through preliminary sketches and drawings. The researchers also assisted in financial assistance to the participants and advised in selection of the materials for the project. It should be noted here that the critical measures we observed in this study were participant collaboration and decision-making in co-creation.
Table 2 Co-creation project reflection.
| Phase 2 | Activity |
|---|---|
| 10-15 March | Reflections on the project: interviews with participants of the |
| 2019 | Usungan Parade project |
Phase 2 was largely focused on acquiring feedback from the participants on the concept of co-creation and on working together, bonding, collaborating, knowledge sharing, and monitoring. As Whyte [18] states, researchers who view informants as collaborators can build a solid relationship, improve the research process and skills of the researchers to conduct participant observation to produce the most effective work. Among the topics for reflection were the outcomes and community feedback on the concept. The results from the project were collected based on community engagement and co-creation factors, consisting of value, advocates, loyalty, bonding, benefits, and documentation.
4 Analysis
The co-creation method stimulates the rethinking of the relationships between visual artists, curators, institutions such as galleries and museums, and their audiences or the general public. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the need for a shift in approaching such complex relationships. Key players within the visual arts ecology should play their roles in propelling such shifts [19]. Fortunately,several key players have been advocating for such shifts, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
One example is an initiative called 'the participatory museum' [9]. Matarasso proposed a co-creative project that is initiated in partnership with the participants rather than based merely on institutional goals. The idea of shared decisionmaking would have been absurd to the previous generation of curators, but it is beginning to be increasingly accepted. Most co-creation projects have been carried out in European countries. An outreach program such as Creative People and Places by Arts Council England makes use of a similar co-creation concept. Some examples of similar projects to the Usungan Project are discussed briefly below.
4.1 SCAPE 7 – T-own Planning
T-own Planning (2013) was a project by the late Roslisham Ismail aka Ise (Malaysia) that deployed the concept of participatory art that brings people together [20]. He drew his inspiration from his own observation of the city of Christchurch and numerous discussions with its residents regarding their wishes and worries related to the city's future. The outcome of the discussion consisted of a video screening and billboard display showcasing playful images of a future city (see Figure 1). Through this work, Ise celebrated and incorporated the opinions and desires of the residents in producing an artwork about their city. Ise's work was the result of a series of discussions with the residents. Therefore, the project can be considered a co-creation project even though Ise himself did not use the term.
Figure 1 T-own Planning by Roslisham Ismail aka Ise 2013, Christchurch [21].
Ise stated that it is normal for us human beings to be unsatisfied with many things in life. The key for him in facing this is negotiation [21]. T-own Planning was a project about collective decisions that require a negotiation process. It used a cocreation concept to bring people together to produce a work of art as part of the decision-making process for a future city.
4.2 Project Baur: Kampung Kolase
In 2015, Herra Pahlasari and Aminudin TH Siregar aka Ucok (Indonesia) conducted a community project called Baur [22]. The project aimed to accommodate and empower members of a selected community in encountering critical urban issues through collaboration between cross-country artists, community service organizations, and the selected community. Anwar added that the idea was to uplift an urban space through the active participation of the local community. Herra and Ucok invited an artist as well as a social activist from Australia, called Deborah Kelly, and Wayang Cyber group from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) Bandung, to realize the project.
The project was held in a village called Hegarmanah, Cidadap, Bandung Indonesia. It used collage art (kolase) as the main medium of interaction with the community. A series of collage works made out of cut-out magazine pictures, created collaboratively by the artists and the community were posted on the walls of houses in the village (see Figure 2 and 3). In this collaboration, the artists only functioned as facilitators. Sixty-four works were created by mothers and their children. The open display allowed passers-by to witness the artworks. Nearly
thirty houses were decorated with collage works. The results of the project were exhibited from 15 to 21 June 2015 in the village. Most of the works were about hopes, dreams, and stories from the community [22]. The community named the village Kampung Kolase.
Figure 2 Sample of Kampung Kolase artworks [22].
Conceptually, the Kampung Kolase project can also be interpreted as a cocreation activity that involved a local community in an art-making process. In the case of this project, members of the community became the artists, while the village was turned into a gallery.
Figure 3 Collage activities at Kampung Kolase [22].
4.3 Upload-Download
The Upload Download project started in 2003 based on a residency program at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (FAAM), Fukuoka, Japan. The artist involved was a researcher for this residency. Hasnul Jamal Saidon collaborated with Roopesh Sitharan (Malaysian multidisciplinary artist) to come out with an artwork to involve students from both Fukuoka and Kuala Lumpur via online platforms and media [19]. Hasnul functioned as facilitator rather than as an artist, and Roopesh was the webmaster and facilitator to help and organize the Malaysian participants.
According to Saidon [23], theoretically, the project mainly focused on interpreting information, the cybernetic paradigm, and cultural studies. He added that the students were stimulated to reflect on the influence of the use of online technology as part of their daily life in this project and specifically life experiences that construct their individual and communal identity. Furthermore, the project was meant to stimulate the consciousness of the students on how technology and online platforms are used in their daily life and how much they contribute to hybrid and identity exchanges [19].
The participants were requested to take a digital portrait photo of themselves and fashion their 'physical' attributes into virtual ones. Saidon [23] stated that adaptation is a symbol for a shift in understanding "identity as a state of mind and emotion in physical form." He added a physical state influenced by cultural identity features in the form of traits such as 'permanent', 'frozen', 'isolated', 'tangible', 'independent', and 'unchanged'. In short, the physical state is a lower form of energy or light, emotion, and the state of mind features traits such as 'fluctuating', 'intangible', 'ephemeral', 'transient', 'impermanent', 'interconnected', 'interdependent', and 'fluid'. In short, emotion and the mind are a higher form of energy or light.
After the transition from the physical to the virtual, or from form to information, the participants from Malaysia were requested to change the portrait of their Japanese friends into what they presumed to be 'Malaysian' faces [19]. The same went for the participants from Japan, converting the portrait of their Malaysian friends into 'Japanese' faces [23]. The result of this process was a mosaic of faces that easily defy ethnic and nationalistic identification (see Figure 4). Several 'fake' faces further problematized easy and lazy representations of national and ethnic identities.
Figure 4 Upload-Download artwork (2003) [19].
This collaborative process between the Malaysian and the Japanese students via online platforms can also be read as a form of co-creation. The result of this project was presented in both online and offline forms. But the result was not meant to be a beautiful cohesive artwork. Instead, the result was meant to show how online technology may negate the safe and fixed offline way of representing nationality and ethnicity.
The co-creation method used in the reviewed projects above is related to the intertextual approach, which leads to a discursive, inclusive, and participative space, where becoming and being a community are performed collectively. In theory, as a form of research, production, and a new format of curating, or a new method, a co-creation project can be considered an act of cultural research. This makes it more pertinent if a co-creation community art project is studied as a form of culture, identity, and language [24]. Language has long been a major subject in cultural studies. All cultural and artistic forms can be read as language [25,26].
They are said to operate like language, especially regarding identity, including communal identity or identity of self. In the 1990s, in a debate on the subject of identity as a major cluster of cultural studies, it was held to be a discursive social development or construction [27]. Cultural studies have swayed from structuralism's study of text, which can be an art form produced by a community through co-creation, to a post-structuralist exploration of the audience. This is how a community art project by using a co-creation method can be contextualized theoretically, as it entails active participants that can act as both audience and producers of text.
Meanings in language, as in a co-creation community art project, can be read as unstable or not totally fixed. Members of a community, in this context, can proactively and collectively participate in the process of signifying or giving meaning as well as regulate the discourse and form narratives. Discourse, especially after Foucault [28-30], refers to the practice and language being controlled as ways of expressing and speaking about a subject. In the case of the reviewed projects above, meanings are relational and formed within a 'language game'. Multiple meanings generated by these projects can be read as products of a collective signifying practice. It can be taken as a zone of multiple interpretations in which topics of communal interest are explored and produced collectively. Communal identities formed through the projects above can also be the product of active human agents, not passive receiving subjects. Concurrently, the resulting identities can be said to be in a constant state of becoming rather than permanently fixed or frozen [31,32] – a community can be observed and studied as a zone of shifting boundaries and perhaps hybridization. Interpretation and meaning-making in this sense, are fully social and malleable cultural formations, and not completely universal all the way.
5 Findings
Based on the Usungan Parade co-creation project and the reviewed projects discussed above, this exploratory study suggeststhe need for further investigation into well-being factors and the use of other methodssuch as entry and exitsurveys to examine the empirical evidence of the participants' feelings and experiences. The findings show practical implications for both the providers, i.e., the artistresearchers, and the community or villagers. The participants' feedback (Phase 2: Reflection) suggested that the researchers need to be clear about their objectives and provide more tasks to develop the participants' co-creative knowledge. However, through six factors from the community engagement and co-creation model that was used to carry out the project, it was found that it was quite a successful co-creation project.
We steered the co-creation project with villagers at Kabong to highlight the usungan parade activities. It is crucial to highlight that the community engagement was a process that resulted in an outcome [33]. It started with icebreaking and brainstorming about the problems from the preliminary study and a sketch session. During the sketch session, we included the exploration of creative practices, i.e.,searching for the subject matter, problem-solving,such as materials selection, and building self-esteem of the participants. In the next session before the actual event on different days, we took part in the making of the usungan based on the drawings and sketches with ten selected families.
The success factor in the implementation of the usungan project was the process of community engagement, where the artist-researchers, heads of families, and neighbors, including children, were in partnerships with one another. It was seen that the Usungan Parade co-creation project built a strong bond between the researchers and the community. Each of the factors will be further elaborated and the findings from the activities are described in Table 3.
Table 3 Six factors and findings from the Usungan Parade co-creation project.
| Factors | Findings |
|---|---|
| Value | I enjoyed the drawing activity |
| Now I know what a sculpture is | |
| Loyalty | Will you do this again next year? I want to take part again |
| I want to assist your photographer for the next project | |
| Teamwork | Two families joining together to produce the usungan |
| Sharing the money to produce the usungan | |
| Volunteerism | |
| Build relationships among the local residents | |
| Benefits | The research team taught us drawing techniques |
| The photographer was willing to share his knowledge about photography | |
| They provided advice and financial support | |
| Advocates | I will bring my friends to this project |
| Will you come again next year? I will ask my brother to join | |
| Added value | This tradition should be promoted |
| What do you plan to do with all the photos and videos? | |
| Will you publish it in the newspaper? |
The six indicators in Table 3 were developed from a combination of the models of community engagement by Wiggin [34] and co-creation by Gabrun and Kijima [35]. The findings were identified from observation, verbal communication such as feedback, and non-verbal communication. One of the comments from heads of families after the sketching activity – "I enjoyed the drawing activity; I hope that we can do more after this for the children" – indicated the value of co-creation. We admitted that the sketch session was not meant for children. The first intention was to teach the adults to do sketching or drawing before proceeding to build the usungan. In addition, there was a question from the audience – "Will you do this again next year? I want to take part again and I want to assist your photographer" – reaffirmed that the participants showed some loyalty to the project. Furthermore, in terms of the advocate factor, we received several comments and questions such as "I will bring my friends to this project next year" and "Will you come again next year? I will ask my brother to join". Additionally, the participants/villagers showed positive interaction and building relationships. For example, two families joined to produce an usungan/palanquin for their children. The value of volunteerism among the residents was unusually strong.
Figure 5 The Usungan Parade Young Contemporaries Art Competition.
Although the usungan parade practice has been around for more than a hundred years, it remained undocumented until this co-creation project took place. Therefore, we decided to record and document the event, the usungan making process as shown in Figure 6, and the design through several methods. In 2019, we managed to showcase thirty artworks from the Usungan Parade co-creation project. The exhibition was the outcome of the study called Usungan: The Presentation of Innovative and Artistic Creation in Bonded Community, Kabong, curated by Mohamad Faizuan bin Mat. This exhibition highlighted the uniqueness of the usungan design and showed the elements of creativity and innovation of the locals. In addition, in Figure 5 the artist-researchers participated in an art competition called Young Contemporaries Awards organized by the National Art Gallery, Malaysia to highlight and promote usungan to the public in order to preserve this dying art and valuable tradition of Sarawak.
Moreover, this study registered four copyright items to protect the authenticity of the usungan design and the practice. We concluded that this usungan practice improved the relationship in the community at Kabong, which still remains strong today (see Figure 6). The teamwork among the locals demonstrated the success of the co-creation method that we applied. Overall, the method of co-creation is also a process of engaging the audience and listening to their opinions as crafters of meaning and interpreters of signs. It discourages 'speaking to'. This signifies a swing from organization, institution, group, or individual/state-defined to people-defined while instantaneously going back to the essence of inclusivity in dealing with critical issues. The notions of self-shared belonging and ownership, security, and wellbeing, for example, can perhaps best be embedded, constructed, reconstructed, and performed by members of a community through co-creation. This method also facilitates major keywords that can be found in many forms of Eastern communal traditions. For example, 'audience' or 'user-centered', 'convergent', 'simultaneous', 'modularity', 'short', 'nonlinear', 'cyclical', 'trans-disciplinary', and 'interchangeable'.
Figure 6 Usungan making process, Kabong, 2019.
6 Discussion
In the co-creation process in the context of marketing, customers can play an active role through their expertise and skills in product and service innovations [36,37]. From a commercial perspective, co-creation allows customers to comment on the products and services offered and give their insight and ideas to the development of new products and services [38-40]. Therefore, customers will exhibit loyalty and trust toward the product. Co-creation can help brands create and maintain their customers relationship [41-43]. However, the risk is that a small group of selected customers in the co-creation process are the only ones who are interested in the product. On the other hand, the co-creation method is very useful in the field of visual arts and community engagement, where the community is seen as a partner instead of a temporary source of ideas. As stated by Simon [44], "co-creative projects originate in partnership with participants rather than solely based on institutional goals."
Through the usungan case study, the co-creation method emphasizes social change through collaboration with the participants, emphasizing the process of creating an artwork compared to its end result. In addition, the co-creation method provides a space and equal opportunity for the community to produce an artwork from the early stage of idea development to the final artwork [45]. As for the usungan case study, the advantage of co-creation in the visual arts field is more likely towards the community rather than the provider. This is due to the variety of programs conducted, such as sharing sessions, knowledge transfer, and several workshops focusing on community development. As mentioned by [45], the cocreation approach is discursive, participative, and inclusive, and treats the community as a collective group together with the artist, curator, and other art practitioners.
Furthermore, the role of the audience in art has changed over the years. Contemporary audiences do not merely appreciate art by viewing, they want to participate in its process. Therefore, the co-creation method is very useful and suitable to involve audiences in the process of art creation. This is supported by [11], who notes that the trend now is that the audience wants to engage with the artwork so as to achieve a more immersive and fulfilling experience. This rising trend can also be referred to as co-creation. The present study proved that the cocreation method can offer space and opportunity for a community to participate in the creation of an artwork. Ultimately, the outcome of the case study exemplified the joy of collaboration and bonding within the community.
7 Conclusion
This study has shown how creative individuals and artists through co-creation may have a significant role to play in promoting a sense of security,shared values, collective identities, cultural ownership, belonging, and togetherness. It has also shown how co-creation can close the gap between art and society in a community that is 'non-art affiliated'. The reviewed projects also showed that people, in general, like to be part of the art-making experience. The projects have offered an idea of how societies or communities all over the world can solve critical problems like unemployment, education, income inequality, healthcare, and poverty. In summary, in terms of marketing and customer research, co-creation is an excellent concept to ensure interaction, engagement, and loyalty to a product or brand name. Yet, this method can also be used in the field of visual arts. An artist can be seen as a trader who needs an audience's review and feedback. In addition, the artists can develop long-term relationships with loyal audiences. As for the Usungan Parade co-creation project, it was received well by the community members, across all ages, from youths to elderly. In fact, most of them said that they look forward to the next edition of the project. In the field of visual arts, audience reviews, feedback, and suggestions can be crucial in building a sustainable ecosystem, thus generating art knowledge for local art scenes. Therefore, the co-creation method can be a better solution to create and enhance the value of art for everyone who is involved in the value chain. By doing that, art can engage in a constructive dialogue, where the audience or community is a crucial and valuable resource for innovation and creativity.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak for the support and encouragement to carry out this research. This research has been supported by the P-Ramlee Research Chair under grant agreement ID: F03/PRC/1732/2018.