Defining and assessing artistic co-creation: The TRACTION proposal1

Abstract

This article presents research developed within the framework of the European project TRACTION, which aims to co-create operas in three different environments incorporating technological elements and with the ultimate objective of generating a social transformation. Through 19 interviews carried out in three different countries (Spain, Ireland, Portugal), a map of indicators that can be used to evaluate artistic co-creation is proposed. The value of the proposal is that the indicators are validated through a focus group with representatives from three diverse co-creation processes–in the Raval neighborhood in Barcelona, in different areas of Ireland, in a prison in Leiria–and serve as a general framework for very diverse environments. Likewise, the work contributes to the debate on the concept of co-creation through a thematic analysis of the definitions provided by the different interviewees. Central topics in the thematic analysis of the definitions are: collaboration, participant profile and role, goal and value, origin and development, and ethical and social aspects.