Community Animation and Social innovation Centre (CASIC) hosted last week the final event of an ESRC seminar series on marketplace exclusion: representations, resistances and responses. The series of six seminars examined substantive and methodological issues surrounding marketplace exclusion, creating strong links between academics, early career researchers, business leaders, community groups, activists, artists and policy makers interested in the dynamics of marketplace exclusion and means of countering it. A documentary drama entitled: 'Because you're worth it?' raised questions about the barriers to full and fair participation within the market and captured the failure of the marketplace to provide goods and services that individuals can afford and reach, and also the failure of the marketplace to adequately represent consumers and society. Researched and designed by Sue Moffat, Director of New Vic Borderlines, the event was the culmination of this ESRC seminar series led by Professor Liz Parson from Liverpool University in collaboration with Professor Mihaela Kelemen (KMS) and other co-investigators from Cambridge, Leicester, Nottingham and Coventry Universities.

In preparation for the presentation New Vic Borderlines took many of the themes raised through the seminar series directly onto the street, and into the 'market places' of Hanley, Stoke on Trent and Newcastle under Lyme. Here they Interacted with members of the public including small businesses and people working in major retail stores. Questions regarding what they understood to be market place exclusion where used to stimulate discussions and opportunities for people to express their own ideas about consumerism, the power of the market, and the way in which people interact with, and respond to the idea of the market.

Questions such as; which 'tribe' do you think you belong to? Are there places/shops that you would never go into? If Britain was 'the market place' what do you think it has to offer? prompted new themes to emerge including people feeling 'pushed out' of various markets such as housing and jobs, and violent desires to belong, own and condemn those who do not conform.

The performance represented the response from the community including the pressure to consume and participate in the market; the violence of 'smash and grab' revenge consumerism which exploded into being during the 2011 summer riots which took place throughout country.

The commoditisation of Christmas as a market opportunity was presented with a documentary story from a young woman who felt her only way of showing the world how much she loved her children was through buying expensive branded goods, because 'my kids are my life' the senseless murder of Sophie Lancaster was raised by members of the 'Goth/Alternative community in Stoke on Trent, and an original song was composed and performed as part of the presentation entitled Strange Flower.

The performance concluded with the story of the Matses tribe from the Amazon who following what they perceived as 'contamination' from consumerist outsiders who were stealing the 'earths blood' cleansed themselves by burning all their possessions in order to begin again, prompting audiences to think about what it is that we could live without and ways of creating 'new beginnings'. Following the performance there was a lively interactive discussion which began in the main auditorium and continued for several hours with members of the audience staying behind and holding deep conversations concluding with ambitions to continue the debates.

The market place interviews generated hours of rich audio, and performance and auditorium discussion was also recorded providing rich data to be analysed and built upon.

Youtube videos:

• 'Because you're worth it?' Marketplace exclusion documentary drama
• 'Because you're worth it?' Post show discussion
• 'Because you're worth it?' Introduction by Dan Thompson

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