Life is too short, and too precious, to not spend every moment as artistically as possible. We should enjoy artistic experiences daily, many times a day, and not relegate art to very few special events during the year.

This is why I have some doubts about how festivals, such as the Fringe, as they have been organised over the years, actually contribute to sustainable grassroots arts development. They take too much time, work and money to produce so that the organizers are invariably burnt out and budgets are in deficit afterwards, and other important work suffers from neglect while we're in festival mode, and whilst we may enjoy a nice big party once a year, by the time we all recover from it, its time to prepare for yet another one.

I would prefer to have many smaller events throughout the year that might build up to a big annual event, but only if communities really wish to stage a bigger event. I much prefer a continuous progression of organic artistic experiences at the most basic and grassroots level – the home, the street, the neighborhood – so that we do not lose opportunities to live life more fully, with as much art as possible enriching our short and precious time on this earth.

And what sort of art do I see as filling our days continuously? Any sort. But I would like to see more art that is not made and enjoyed purely for its own sake but is made and enjoyed in conjunction or as a result of or in order to result in other significant matters and moments in our life. I prefer a purposeful kind of art, an art that accompanies us in life’s journey and which embodies and animates it, not merely to decorate it.

These are the “community arts” I am interested in.