Introducing and interviewing Jade Herriman

I have known Jade for over 10 years. She’s smart, creative and soulful. Her journey has been fascinating, and if you are keen to discover how art and democracy go together then read on.

Max:
We co-wrote a paper together with some Canadian academics/colleagues a few years ago (You can download here). What do you think was useful or significant about that research?

Jade:
That research looked at the way that public participation processes involve individuals to participate as citizens, compared with inviting people to participate as representatives of stakeholder groups. I think the research was useful in highlighting quite carefully and in some detail, the different design choices open to public participation professionals in relation to who is at the decision-making table, and in what capacity.

Max:
In more recent years you have been exploring the world of art and providing art therapy services. What have learned about yourself from your adventure in art therapy?

Jade:
I have realised that I love working with groups, way more than working one on one with individual clients. I enjoy the diversity of outlooks and feel so moved when I see the flow of insights, kindness and connections between participants.

I have learnt that listening with an open heart and mind is extremely valuable and a lot harder to offer than it sounds. I have learnt at a deeper level that there is so much of the human experience that is shared: no matter our situation, status, financial situation, or physical or mental health challenges we all long to connect, to be understood, to be treated respectfully, to experience humour and compassion.

I have also learnt that my own experiences with anxiety can actually be an asset in certain work – for example I love creating safe and welcoming spaces and experiences that people can relax into, and I probably pay a lot more attention to the details of making a space comfortable and a process clear for that reason.

Max:
So now you are looking to integrate your love of art, and art therapy, with your long-held interest in renewing democratic processes. How do you think they might work together?

Jade:
I am quite excited by the not-knowing of how exactly that might unfold! In the past I’ve used creative methods in community engagement processes to help people input to strategic planning, place making and local environmental projects. So, this future work might build on that. I think that art therapy tools are useful for so much more than what we might think of as ‘therapy’ – they can be tools for wellbeing, for personal reflection and insight, they can be tools for relaxation, for team building and for developing leadership skills.

In the context of public participation in decision making I think that creative methods are a great way to get beyond our day to day scripts and dip into the deeper and more complex set of views that we each hold. They are also great tools for inviting in the personal and emotional dimensions to a dialogue, and for helping us spark new ideas and innovation.

Max:
What kind of opportunities are you now looking for?

Jade:
I would like to continue to bring creative methods not just to the process of healing and personal growth, but also to leadership and complex decision making. Any work where I get to help people have honest conversations and make it safe to bring all of who they are to the table make me happy. I also love projects where there is an opportunity to give people first-hand experience of making things with their hands and the way that creative expression can ground us, challenge us, comfort us, and provide another way to know ourselves.

Max:
Thanks Jade. I’m looking forward to exploring some opportunities with you, and I look forward to you throwing me some questions for Part 2 of this blog.

You can contact Jade Herriman through https://jadeherriman.com/ and see her in action in this video.

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EPA_Co-design.mp4

Thanks to Max for having me as a guest on his blog. It’s been a pleasure to know and work with Max overthe years, as I know it has been for a large number of people.

I want to talk today about innovation. Innovation is one of the over-arching themes of Open State, this exciting event that’s being held in Adelaide in October. It’s also a central theme of an Open State workshop I’m helping to organise: Beyond the Vote. Democratic Innovation in Australia.

Innovation is a thing I have a mixed relationship with. Having done research on emerging technologies and science and technology governance, I’ve studied innovation. I also worked for several years in the federal Department of Innovation (it always had other things in its title, which changed over time). Like other people, I’ve used the term innovation or innovative to make something I’m doing sound better.

On the other hand, I am something of a neo-Luddite and a late adopter. I do now have a smart phone, but I’m still weighing up whether to sign up to Facebook. This is partly because I am a highly sensitive person and deeply reflective. I’m not risk-averse, as such, having made some brave (possibly crazy) choices in my life, but I’m easily over-stimulated and I actively seek to keep my circle of concern close to the bounds of my circle of influence.

So, for me, new is not necessarily good; new can be and often is stressful, so the good it brings has to be clear.

I’m therefore sceptical about the innovation buzz word, and I’m also aware that a lot of innovation is actually old stuff being dressed up as new. This is true for our ‘democratic innovation’ workshop. Deliberative mini-publics have been around for decades, as have co-design processes and principles, grass-roots movements even longer. Many of these ‘innovations’ trace their roots back to the beginnings of democracy.

Recognising this, I think the kinds of questions we need to ask are:

• What is new and disruptive about these processes and approaches as they are emerging in contemporary contexts (citizens juries influencing state politics, co-design reshaping delivery in traditionally technocratic policy areas, grass-roots movements competing with popularity politics at a federal level)?
• What good do they bring? What problems and challenges do they bring?
• How can we learn from what has come before?

The Beyond the Vote workshop will bring practitioners and researchers together. As well as showcasing and exploring great practice cases, this will bring an academic perspective, to the workshop and to Open State. As a person working at the nexus of engagement practice and academia, I’ve really seen the value an academic perspective can bring. I’ve also experienced the tension.

Social science scholars bring both empirical rigour and a critical lens to the study of practical developments. This can be uncomfortable, especially when we’re busy getting excited and patting ourselves on the back about the great work we’re doing. But it’s really important.

As well as doing great work in democratic innovation, practitioners are making mistakes, reinventing the wheel, working at cross purposes, and competing where they could be collaborating or complementing. Academics can point this out, not only in the context of better practice, but from a bigger picture perspective. They can see practice from a system perspective, and give advice about the integration and implementation of practice interventions to give better outcomes at a whole system level.

At the same time, practitioners can give academics unique perspectives on real-world developments, access to empirical cases to test and build theory, and can teach academics a thing or two about celebrating their work.

I’m really looking forward to working with practitioners and researchers at Beyond the Vote, including John Dryzek, Gerry Stoker, Carolyn Hendriks, Simon Burall, Emily Jenke, Nicole Hunter, Chad Foulkes, City of Melbourne, new Democracy Foundation, Voices4Indi, CAPaD, and hopefully, Max Hardy!

I’m also looking forward to the IAP2 conference and all the other exciting events at Open State, and to catching up with friends, old and new.

—

Dr A. Wendy Russell
Principal consultant
Double Arrow Consulting,
Two-way engagement for robust decisions
E: a.wendy.russell@gmail.com