Arts & Resilience in a Rural Community: The value of arts-based community activities in resilience-building in Pingjum, northern Netherlands

The question of how to achieve resilience has become a matter of significance at societal and communal levels. This thesis explores the value of arts-based community activities for resilience-building. This focus can be viewed in the context of the growing interest in the value of the arts for communities in general and aligns with resilience policies that seek to include the everyday life-world and knowledge available within communities. The thesis draws on a research project that was conducted in Pingjum, a village in the northern Netherlands. The project adopted a participatory approach consisting of three stages in which creative and arts-based research methods were used: walking interviews, group discussions, and a creative workshop that led to an exhibition in Pingjum’s village hall. By looking at the role of arts-based community activities in community resilience from several perspectives, this thesis comes to aid in answering the question of how to achieve community resilience.