Details
This paper grapples with how babies’ right to be heard, enshrined in the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child (1989), might be realised through the participatory arts. To do so, the paper
draws on findings from the multiphase Voice of the Baby research project, which was
commissioned by Starcatchers, an early years arts organisation in Scotland. Phase One involved scoping existing research and practice in Scotland, while in Phase Two, researchers observed three participatory arts projects for babies, run by the partner organisation, to understand how artists supported babies' right to be heard in practice. The analysis identified five key practices used by artists to enable babies' right to be heard: curating spaces for play and creativity, building sensitive relationships, navigating identity, respecting babies' complex communication, and making time for babies to be heard. As these findings indicate, the voices of babies were never heard in isolation. Instead, artists worked through reciprocal interactions with babies, their families, other people in the spaces, the physical materials and qualities of the space, underpinning knowledge of the communities, and their own identities as artists. These findings demonstrate that a relational orientation to children’s rights is an essential aspect of participatory work in the very early years. However, although the need to understand
interdependence, relationality and fluidity have been key aspects of debates about children’s
participation rights for decades, the individualist image of the autonomous participating child
continues to rear its head. By bringing the Voice of the Baby project into dialogue with
international theorisations of children’s participation rights—particularly from Majority World
contexts—we argue that the tension between autonomous and relational understandings of
the child creates a generative space for reflexivity and transparency about how very young
children are being involved in conversations about their lives.
Rights of the Child (1989), might be realised through the participatory arts. To do so, the paper
draws on findings from the multiphase Voice of the Baby research project, which was
commissioned by Starcatchers, an early years arts organisation in Scotland. Phase One involved scoping existing research and practice in Scotland, while in Phase Two, researchers observed three participatory arts projects for babies, run by the partner organisation, to understand how artists supported babies' right to be heard in practice. The analysis identified five key practices used by artists to enable babies' right to be heard: curating spaces for play and creativity, building sensitive relationships, navigating identity, respecting babies' complex communication, and making time for babies to be heard. As these findings indicate, the voices of babies were never heard in isolation. Instead, artists worked through reciprocal interactions with babies, their families, other people in the spaces, the physical materials and qualities of the space, underpinning knowledge of the communities, and their own identities as artists. These findings demonstrate that a relational orientation to children’s rights is an essential aspect of participatory work in the very early years. However, although the need to understand
interdependence, relationality and fluidity have been key aspects of debates about children’s
participation rights for decades, the individualist image of the autonomous participating child
continues to rear its head. By bringing the Voice of the Baby project into dialogue with
international theorisations of children’s participation rights—particularly from Majority World
contexts—we argue that the tension between autonomous and relational understandings of
the child creates a generative space for reflexivity and transparency about how very young
children are being involved in conversations about their lives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Children and Society |
| Publication status | Submitted - 18 Oct 2024 |
Keywords
- rights
- early years
- participation
- arts
