From Network to Meshwork Executive Summary | Page 11

This report is a summary of the first sustained programme of public research into validation for social practice artists. It is about the challenges artists face in accessing critical support, acclaim and development opportunities for social practice, essential ingredients of validation. The report makes eight recommendations for how to create a new model of validation, scaled up to benefit as many artists as possible through a meshwork approach to organisational structure. It is written for artists working in social practice, but also for cultural organisations who support and engage them and for funders and commissioners working with influential institutions such as ACE and the NHS, who might wish to know more about social practice artists’ current experiences of validation and to influence policy accordingly.