Harnessing the bohemian : art as partner not maverick

Abstract

Change is inimical to the fabric of life. Yet it affects countries and sectors within countries differently; all animals are not equal. Australia is revered in her folklore for being a land of wide open spaces. Yet in the change climate of the 21st Century those wide open spaces are the most vulnerable; they must measure up to the challenges of change or face virtual extinction. Our most remote and rural communities are shrinking in population and their traditional agricultural bases are ever eroding. Technological changes are part of the nation's egalitarian strategy (e.g., the National Broadband Network (NBN) but the harsh reality remains that these communities face idiosyncratic challenges, ones that will never be confronted by their urban counterparts. It is a fact, however, that the now vast community development literature offers those in remote rural communities few strategic directions given its almost exclusive focus on urban contexts. There is an urgent need to redress the balance and to provide relevant options for people living in and committed to these communities and their further development. The current research derives from the principles of the creative economy and questions whether a focus on these might create potential affordances for such communities. In this context, the research specifically examines the links between the arts and robust, sustainable and inventive communities capable of meeting the challenges of an increasingly globalised society. The potential of the arts in the social, cultural and economic development in remote, rural communities has not yet been fully explored, let alone realised; since the arts are not commonly integrated with community life, community artists and arts workers have traditionally not been fully apprised of and engaged with community-wide issues and problems with the consequential result that there have been few opportunities for cross-disciplinary projects or initiatives. The study is backgrounded by a review of the literature pertaining to conventional community development theories and practices as well as an environmental scan of documented lighthouse projects. Developing from the argument that the concept of the creative economy impacts on multiple aspects of community life and growth and is proving to be broader, deeper and more all encompassing than currently conventional approaches to community development, the research explores the potential links between the skills and processes inherent in the artistic crucible of creativity and those skills and attitudes required to build robust, sustainable and inventive communities capable of meeting the challenges of an ever more globalised society. The resultant picture of a significant disconnect between the arts and their communities provides the basis for the proposal of a new model for community development which identifies the arts as a community asset to be considered and applied in conjunction with other community assets. It encourages communities to develop a focus on creativity and innovation across all sectors of the community and argues for the development of community partnerships promising new synergies and subsequent new solutions to community problems. -- provided by Candidate. Show more