How many ways can we possibly say, "we like it, and it's good for us in lots of ways that are good"?
One of the truly fascinating, and sometimes extremely frustrating, parts of this research is the number of different nouns available for me to use to say essentially the same thing in slightly different ways.
Not sure what I mean? The working title of my research when I first started this project was, 'the arts and social wellbeing of Australian rural communities'. Fairly straight forward? Well, yes. However, as with the term 'social capital', I'm getting the feeling that some people are a little over the term 'wellbeing' and prefer instead to use language like, 'resilience', 'inclusive' or 'engagement'. I was doing some reading today and was surprised to find the use of the noun 'community' also coming under some criticism.
A scan of some of my working titles for individual papers includes titles like: 'Determining the role/Measuring the impact/Finding a place for the arts and rural resilience/inclusion/revitalisation/inequity/empowerment'.
Yes, I do realise they are not all the same thing. But the amount of overlap is uncanny. That I can use the one project to generate a list of nouns like the ones above is quite a feat.
While it is useful to make distinctions between these terms, none of them has ever come out on top as the best name for all the applications/use/benefits/outcomes of the arts. I guess then I'm back to where I started.
When I think about the definition of wellbeing, at its most basic it refers to being well. Being well could easily encompass a huge array of nouns that all contribute to the betterment of both individuals and communities (or clusters of people who share a commonality, such as location, interests, etc.). To be socially well, we need to have a certain amount of understanding, tolerance and respect for each other. We also need to feel confident and empowered within ourselves in order to build individual resilience so that we can support each other to make our communities resilience.
I think I'll stick with my original title :)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Australia racist?
I realise I am at risk of stating the obvious, but the experience of Indigenous Australians is very different, and quite far removed from the experience of non-indigenous Australians.
Non-indigenous rural Australians are concerned with maintaining or strengthening sense of community. They do not want the vitality or the viability of their town to be undermined. There seems to be an increased focus on stimulating economic diversity and growth in order to create a more vibrant community.
There is a strong focus on the quality of life that rural living provides. No one wants to leave because they enjoy the rural lifestyle, but they are concerned that fewer people are around, available, or willing to contribute and therefore their quality of life is threatened.
For Indigenous Australians, the threat IS the reality, when compared to their non-indigenous neighbours. I won't bore you with statistics, as these are the obvious, quantifiable signs of inequity. So I'm not here to argue that Indigenous Australians are disadvantaged, this is already a given, I just wanted to point out how this inequity has shown itself in my research.
As I've already mentioned, non-indigenous Australians lament the loss of population because this has meant that there are fewer people to provide services, events and activities for the community than there was before. Rural towns are considered lucky if they can still manage to get enough players for one football team, others are happy that at least the tennis is still going... even though they only play socially now. This is not to mention the contribution of service clubs, charity organisations, action groups, or other community groups. Rural Australia must have been an extremely vibrant place to live when all of these activities were at their peak.
However, even in its hey-day, this experience was NOT the experience of rural Indigenous people. Indigenous Australians were confined to reserves or sent to missions. They now live in established towns or in Indigenous Communities (which are still not recognised as town sites in their own right, despite the presence of schools and other community facilities). The past treatment and injustices experienced by Indigenous Australians has carried on over several generations through drug and alcohol abuse, social problems and racism.
Non-indigenous rural Australians are using the arts in economic development, as a buffer for the changing economic and social make-up of their communities, and to facilitate and make the best use of existing social networks.
Indigenous Australians are using the arts to deal with trauma and address social problems, to reconnect with their culture, re-establish a sense of place and forge a common identity.
I spoke to an Indigenous elder who told me that "Australia is racist":
"Having ATSIC, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the fact that having a Department of Aboriginal Affairs proves that Australia is racist. If we’re all Australians we shouldn’t have one department for one mob. Community welfare means community welfare, community health means community health. There should be no need for Aboriginal Medical Service. It's there because somebody missed out on doing their job. So it’s a two-way thing, the white fella getting lazy and he's racist. So, you have an Aboriginal Legal Service (we shouldn’t), because the ordinary legal service isn’t doing its job... So Australia is built on racism. If we’re all equal, well we be equal."
When I started this research, I wouldn't have thought that the issues could have been so "black and white", but they are. I made a concerted effort to make sure I got an Indigenous perspective on this research, but it wasn't as easy as arranging interviews with non-indigenous representatives. I needed to be flexible with both my time and my approach. I needed to listen to the experience of others. I needed to be extremely conscious of establishing mutual respect and trust, so assumptions weren't made about MY intentions.
Inequity, experienced in any aspect (race, gender, etc.), can be addressed as long as it is first recognised and then ACTIVELY examined. You must be fully aware that relying on previous experience may in fact be perpetuating inequity, therefore you must recognise existing prejudices (including your own), be prepared to be unprepared, in other words, be flexible and keep an open mind.
Non-indigenous rural Australians are concerned with maintaining or strengthening sense of community. They do not want the vitality or the viability of their town to be undermined. There seems to be an increased focus on stimulating economic diversity and growth in order to create a more vibrant community.
There is a strong focus on the quality of life that rural living provides. No one wants to leave because they enjoy the rural lifestyle, but they are concerned that fewer people are around, available, or willing to contribute and therefore their quality of life is threatened.
For Indigenous Australians, the threat IS the reality, when compared to their non-indigenous neighbours. I won't bore you with statistics, as these are the obvious, quantifiable signs of inequity. So I'm not here to argue that Indigenous Australians are disadvantaged, this is already a given, I just wanted to point out how this inequity has shown itself in my research.
As I've already mentioned, non-indigenous Australians lament the loss of population because this has meant that there are fewer people to provide services, events and activities for the community than there was before. Rural towns are considered lucky if they can still manage to get enough players for one football team, others are happy that at least the tennis is still going... even though they only play socially now. This is not to mention the contribution of service clubs, charity organisations, action groups, or other community groups. Rural Australia must have been an extremely vibrant place to live when all of these activities were at their peak.
However, even in its hey-day, this experience was NOT the experience of rural Indigenous people. Indigenous Australians were confined to reserves or sent to missions. They now live in established towns or in Indigenous Communities (which are still not recognised as town sites in their own right, despite the presence of schools and other community facilities). The past treatment and injustices experienced by Indigenous Australians has carried on over several generations through drug and alcohol abuse, social problems and racism.
Non-indigenous rural Australians are using the arts in economic development, as a buffer for the changing economic and social make-up of their communities, and to facilitate and make the best use of existing social networks.
Indigenous Australians are using the arts to deal with trauma and address social problems, to reconnect with their culture, re-establish a sense of place and forge a common identity.
I spoke to an Indigenous elder who told me that "Australia is racist":
"Having ATSIC, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the fact that having a Department of Aboriginal Affairs proves that Australia is racist. If we’re all Australians we shouldn’t have one department for one mob. Community welfare means community welfare, community health means community health. There should be no need for Aboriginal Medical Service. It's there because somebody missed out on doing their job. So it’s a two-way thing, the white fella getting lazy and he's racist. So, you have an Aboriginal Legal Service (we shouldn’t), because the ordinary legal service isn’t doing its job... So Australia is built on racism. If we’re all equal, well we be equal."
When I started this research, I wouldn't have thought that the issues could have been so "black and white", but they are. I made a concerted effort to make sure I got an Indigenous perspective on this research, but it wasn't as easy as arranging interviews with non-indigenous representatives. I needed to be flexible with both my time and my approach. I needed to listen to the experience of others. I needed to be extremely conscious of establishing mutual respect and trust, so assumptions weren't made about MY intentions.
Inequity, experienced in any aspect (race, gender, etc.), can be addressed as long as it is first recognised and then ACTIVELY examined. You must be fully aware that relying on previous experience may in fact be perpetuating inequity, therefore you must recognise existing prejudices (including your own), be prepared to be unprepared, in other words, be flexible and keep an open mind.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Blokes & the Arts
More recently I have been looking a little more closely at gender differences and the arts. This has been mostly because I was only finding women to talk to. But also because it has come up in a few casual conversations. Particularly in reference to arts and community centres that, while successful for the community, have been underutilised by men.
No surprise that women are more likely to form the arts & craft groups, whereas men are more likely engage in the arts as a solo pursuit. It's interesting though, that in general contemporary music programs have to create initiatives to try and increase female participation, as men tend to dominate the local music industry.
You just have to look at the gender balance at events like the Meekatharra Battle of the Bands. I saw only two women perform on that first day, and they were both soloists. As far as reaching priority target groups within the community, the competition was completely dominated by indigenous males.
There are other areas of the arts, in addition to contemporary music, where blokes tend to get more involved:
1. Graff art or street art.
That is, using spray cans to paint on walls/canvas/skateboards/etc. This also ties in nicely with hip hop, breakdance & rap (modern day storytelling!). So not only do you engage boys in a form of visual art there is the bonus of the performing arts of dance and music.
2. Manual arts (metal work, wood work, sculpture generally, etc.)
This would also include things like emu egg carving and the making artefacts, such as spears, weapons, and other fantastic creations.
3. Movie making and digital arts (film, video, animation, graffic design, etc.)
This can involve set building and acting, or better still, stunts & special effects!
In my experience, think big and loud, plenty of action thrown in with the use of gadgets, tools, or machinery and you won't have any problem engaging blokes in the arts :)
No surprise that women are more likely to form the arts & craft groups, whereas men are more likely engage in the arts as a solo pursuit. It's interesting though, that in general contemporary music programs have to create initiatives to try and increase female participation, as men tend to dominate the local music industry.
You just have to look at the gender balance at events like the Meekatharra Battle of the Bands. I saw only two women perform on that first day, and they were both soloists. As far as reaching priority target groups within the community, the competition was completely dominated by indigenous males.
There are other areas of the arts, in addition to contemporary music, where blokes tend to get more involved:
1. Graff art or street art.
That is, using spray cans to paint on walls/canvas/skateboards/etc. This also ties in nicely with hip hop, breakdance & rap (modern day storytelling!). So not only do you engage boys in a form of visual art there is the bonus of the performing arts of dance and music.
2. Manual arts (metal work, wood work, sculpture generally, etc.)
This would also include things like emu egg carving and the making artefacts, such as spears, weapons, and other fantastic creations.
3. Movie making and digital arts (film, video, animation, graffic design, etc.)
This can involve set building and acting, or better still, stunts & special effects!
In my experience, think big and loud, plenty of action thrown in with the use of gadgets, tools, or machinery and you won't have any problem engaging blokes in the arts :)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
When it comes...
We go!
I’ve been toying with the idea of exploring the phenomena of rural residents who attend arts events, and other activities in their town, not because they think they will enjoy it, but out of a sense of obligation that if they don’t go, their town will miss out next time.
Sounds like a great idea for a paper, but I’ve been having trouble trying to get some references together – maybe there just isn’t any out there? Please someone, prove me wrong!
I’ve had an audience survey go out over the past year with performing arts shows that have been touring regional Western Australia. The statistics on their own haven’t told me anything too profound as yet. It was mostly to get some numbers on who was going and what else they got up to, because so few statistics specifically on regional arts attendance exists. The most fascinating part of the survey was the comments at the end.
My impressions so far are that some of the respondents of my survey will support touring shows because they want to support their local community, they want to show their support to the organisers (who are invariably local), and out of a sense of obligation to show their support to the performers who made the effort to visit in the first place.
Comments such as the following really bring this point home:
“Though we originally intended with the viewpoint of making up the numbers, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!”
On a similar vein, many respondents implied that their attendance at the current event ensured that future events would also tour to their town:
“To ensure good attendance, so that future events are held here”
“Because it was available locally and it’s important to support so as we get more”
So are regional audiences more committed arts attendees than metropolitan audiences? From the responses I received, it would appear so. This was suggested by a few respondents who commented that they “would attend good quality performances locally, exceptional in Perth”. It was also suggested that because there are fewer channels of communication in small towns, local residents were more likely to know what was going on and therefore they would attend:
“If this was in Perth it would be harder to get to and most likely (I) wouldn’t hear about it.”
Fascinating stuff.
I’m distributing a household survey to the focus region for my research within the next few months or so, so it will be interesting to see how the responses compare to the audience survey.
Only 18 months on the PhD to go!
I’ve been toying with the idea of exploring the phenomena of rural residents who attend arts events, and other activities in their town, not because they think they will enjoy it, but out of a sense of obligation that if they don’t go, their town will miss out next time.
Sounds like a great idea for a paper, but I’ve been having trouble trying to get some references together – maybe there just isn’t any out there? Please someone, prove me wrong!
I’ve had an audience survey go out over the past year with performing arts shows that have been touring regional Western Australia. The statistics on their own haven’t told me anything too profound as yet. It was mostly to get some numbers on who was going and what else they got up to, because so few statistics specifically on regional arts attendance exists. The most fascinating part of the survey was the comments at the end.
My impressions so far are that some of the respondents of my survey will support touring shows because they want to support their local community, they want to show their support to the organisers (who are invariably local), and out of a sense of obligation to show their support to the performers who made the effort to visit in the first place.
Comments such as the following really bring this point home:
“Though we originally intended with the viewpoint of making up the numbers, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!”
On a similar vein, many respondents implied that their attendance at the current event ensured that future events would also tour to their town:
“To ensure good attendance, so that future events are held here”
“Because it was available locally and it’s important to support so as we get more”
So are regional audiences more committed arts attendees than metropolitan audiences? From the responses I received, it would appear so. This was suggested by a few respondents who commented that they “would attend good quality performances locally, exceptional in Perth”. It was also suggested that because there are fewer channels of communication in small towns, local residents were more likely to know what was going on and therefore they would attend:
“If this was in Perth it would be harder to get to and most likely (I) wouldn’t hear about it.”
Fascinating stuff.
I’m distributing a household survey to the focus region for my research within the next few months or so, so it will be interesting to see how the responses compare to the audience survey.
Only 18 months on the PhD to go!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Arts Steps
Steps to Developing Communities through the Arts
1. Your vision might not be anyone else’s vision.
Not all communities are the same. Communities are unique and diverse, just like people. You might have great visions of what happened in the last community you were in, or want to try to replicate something that ‘went off’ somewhere else. But these ideas might be far from what the community itself wants. Keep your own ambitions broad and flexible. Focus on making a difference for that particular community, rather than what you would like to see happen.
2. Never assume that anyone actually knows what they want, or that they know how to articulate it (even you!).
People can’t ask for something they know nothing about or have never experienced before. On similar lines, engagement in the arts may feel good and you enjoy doing it, but try to explaining to someone why you like listening to music, what made you hang that particular print in your lounge room, or why you never missed a social dance event at the local RSL club. Sometimes it’s easier to just do it, rather than try to explain it. You can also try using examples, go on outings to see what other people are doing, or try new things on a small scale to give the community a taste of what is possible.
3. Plant seeds of ideas and assist them to grow, develop and evolve, rather than imposing your plan on the community.
Not imposing your vision or plan on the community does not mean you sit back and wait for them to tell you what they want. Think of your role as a facilitator, the ideas person, providing inspiration, motivation and logistics. Once people know they want something, and have confident in their ability to achieve it, then anything is possible.
4. Big visions, small steps.
There is no harm in thinking big. The most ambitious of projects, ideas and outcomes are achievable, and it’s great to have longer term goals. However, failure to achieve big visions can be extremely disheartening and may even result in the current situation being worse than when you started. Think big, but start off slow and work on short term easy-to-achieve goals as you work towards your utopian community dream.
1. Your vision might not be anyone else’s vision.
Not all communities are the same. Communities are unique and diverse, just like people. You might have great visions of what happened in the last community you were in, or want to try to replicate something that ‘went off’ somewhere else. But these ideas might be far from what the community itself wants. Keep your own ambitions broad and flexible. Focus on making a difference for that particular community, rather than what you would like to see happen.
2. Never assume that anyone actually knows what they want, or that they know how to articulate it (even you!).
People can’t ask for something they know nothing about or have never experienced before. On similar lines, engagement in the arts may feel good and you enjoy doing it, but try to explaining to someone why you like listening to music, what made you hang that particular print in your lounge room, or why you never missed a social dance event at the local RSL club. Sometimes it’s easier to just do it, rather than try to explain it. You can also try using examples, go on outings to see what other people are doing, or try new things on a small scale to give the community a taste of what is possible.
3. Plant seeds of ideas and assist them to grow, develop and evolve, rather than imposing your plan on the community.
Not imposing your vision or plan on the community does not mean you sit back and wait for them to tell you what they want. Think of your role as a facilitator, the ideas person, providing inspiration, motivation and logistics. Once people know they want something, and have confident in their ability to achieve it, then anything is possible.
4. Big visions, small steps.
There is no harm in thinking big. The most ambitious of projects, ideas and outcomes are achievable, and it’s great to have longer term goals. However, failure to achieve big visions can be extremely disheartening and may even result in the current situation being worse than when you started. Think big, but start off slow and work on short term easy-to-achieve goals as you work towards your utopian community dream.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Secret Mission
My art has a secret mission
From an art therapy model the arts are used as a way of increasing self-esteem, for self-expression, to alleviate stress, and to help in management of pain and anxiety when faced with illness, death or other trauma.
‘We’ve used the arts to bring people back together and build relationships and make people feel good about themselves. But I’ve also personally used that as an artist as well. We’ve had a lot of (people) passing away in the last 4 years. (I) really got involved in the arts and worked through my emotions doing painting and that sort of thing.’
The arts have also been suggested to be good for the health of society because they provide interest, amusement, satire, challenge and vision. I’ve mentioned already too that people engage in the arts for different reasons (Friday, August 8, 2008 - Arts in the Murchison) including to simply create great art, for networking and social opportunities, entertainment, recreation and pleasure, a positive outlet in a safe venue, and to expand potential career opportunities by increasing both skills and confidence. There is also the idea that the arts builds capacity and strengthens local identity (social wellbeing) while also providing opportunities for income generation and other economic benefits, like tourism to rural communities.
‘Artists get a reward by making money for themselves and their kids, they know they’ve got a reward out there… You see these mobs, the two groups, and they don’t talk to each other, but they all went down to (the city) together. They get excited about it and go down to more art.’
‘It enriches everyone’s life. All of these arts in which everybody plays. When we came to town the thing that I heard so frequently was our town is dying, what are we going to do? What can we do to stop it from dying?… People have gotten behind the (festival). It was a way to stop the town from dying, from becoming a ghost town, or a retirement town, really. It attracts tourism, this is the main road north, if we can get people to stop, get people to stay for 2 days it helps tremendously money-wise, financially for the town.’
In this blog entry though, I wanted to concentrate on the use of the arts in a community development context. One that many local community leaders and local government workers refer to as the ‘hidden agenda’ of the arts or my favourite, “my arts project’s secret mission”.
What does it mean for an arts project to have a secret mission? Well, arts projects are seen as a way to bring people together to achieve community development outcomes, without necessarily acknowledging that this was the intention of the project from the onset. I’ve already shown a glimpse of this idea in the ending quote of one of the previous entries (Monday, June 9, 2008 - Purpose and Definitions) but there are many examples to be found throughout rural Australia.
‘The arts is always a good, it’s a good decoy, you know what I mean? Quite often if you talk about those outcomes you want to achieve then people will go, oh well I’m not coming to do that. But if it’s an artistic activity that they can learn or participate in they are more readily, you know, going to give their time to it.’
In this sense, the intended community development outcomes are not always obvious to not only the participants of the art project, but also (and somewhat problematically) to the funding bodies and decision-making authorities as well.
‘I was still doing arts based projects and I got pulled up all the time (by senior management). “Why are you getting the kids to paint a mural down the street?” To me that was anti-graffiti, cos it’s a space the kids graffiti all the time. If the kids then own it, paint it, it hasn’t been graffitied now. But it was very hard to get them to see that.’
Arts projects are often seen as easy to implement (that is when compared to other social or behavioural intervention projects) because they are so diverse and varied that they can appeal to a range of diverse sectors within a community that they are easy to implement.
‘The purpose (of the street art project) was to teach art, but there was also the underlying purpose of finding out why they were on the streets at night, or looking at other things that gives them interest in terms of identity, and colour, and doing painting, and just be proud of yourself as an aboriginal person.’
In the framework below, the reasons for engagement by the participants can be completely independent from the perceived need, or desired outcomes of the project (yep, you guessed it, that’s the secret mission bit). The perceived need and reasons for engagement can be independent again from the actual outcomes of the project, which may or may not have been intentional (hidden again, sometimes even from those who instigated the project in the first place!).
From an art therapy model the arts are used as a way of increasing self-esteem, for self-expression, to alleviate stress, and to help in management of pain and anxiety when faced with illness, death or other trauma.
‘We’ve used the arts to bring people back together and build relationships and make people feel good about themselves. But I’ve also personally used that as an artist as well. We’ve had a lot of (people) passing away in the last 4 years. (I) really got involved in the arts and worked through my emotions doing painting and that sort of thing.’
The arts have also been suggested to be good for the health of society because they provide interest, amusement, satire, challenge and vision. I’ve mentioned already too that people engage in the arts for different reasons (Friday, August 8, 2008 - Arts in the Murchison) including to simply create great art, for networking and social opportunities, entertainment, recreation and pleasure, a positive outlet in a safe venue, and to expand potential career opportunities by increasing both skills and confidence. There is also the idea that the arts builds capacity and strengthens local identity (social wellbeing) while also providing opportunities for income generation and other economic benefits, like tourism to rural communities.
‘Artists get a reward by making money for themselves and their kids, they know they’ve got a reward out there… You see these mobs, the two groups, and they don’t talk to each other, but they all went down to (the city) together. They get excited about it and go down to more art.’
‘It enriches everyone’s life. All of these arts in which everybody plays. When we came to town the thing that I heard so frequently was our town is dying, what are we going to do? What can we do to stop it from dying?… People have gotten behind the (festival). It was a way to stop the town from dying, from becoming a ghost town, or a retirement town, really. It attracts tourism, this is the main road north, if we can get people to stop, get people to stay for 2 days it helps tremendously money-wise, financially for the town.’
In this blog entry though, I wanted to concentrate on the use of the arts in a community development context. One that many local community leaders and local government workers refer to as the ‘hidden agenda’ of the arts or my favourite, “my arts project’s secret mission”.
What does it mean for an arts project to have a secret mission? Well, arts projects are seen as a way to bring people together to achieve community development outcomes, without necessarily acknowledging that this was the intention of the project from the onset. I’ve already shown a glimpse of this idea in the ending quote of one of the previous entries (Monday, June 9, 2008 - Purpose and Definitions) but there are many examples to be found throughout rural Australia.
‘The arts is always a good, it’s a good decoy, you know what I mean? Quite often if you talk about those outcomes you want to achieve then people will go, oh well I’m not coming to do that. But if it’s an artistic activity that they can learn or participate in they are more readily, you know, going to give their time to it.’
In this sense, the intended community development outcomes are not always obvious to not only the participants of the art project, but also (and somewhat problematically) to the funding bodies and decision-making authorities as well.
‘I was still doing arts based projects and I got pulled up all the time (by senior management). “Why are you getting the kids to paint a mural down the street?” To me that was anti-graffiti, cos it’s a space the kids graffiti all the time. If the kids then own it, paint it, it hasn’t been graffitied now. But it was very hard to get them to see that.’
Arts projects are often seen as easy to implement (that is when compared to other social or behavioural intervention projects) because they are so diverse and varied that they can appeal to a range of diverse sectors within a community that they are easy to implement.
‘The purpose (of the street art project) was to teach art, but there was also the underlying purpose of finding out why they were on the streets at night, or looking at other things that gives them interest in terms of identity, and colour, and doing painting, and just be proud of yourself as an aboriginal person.’
In the framework below, the reasons for engagement by the participants can be completely independent from the perceived need, or desired outcomes of the project (yep, you guessed it, that’s the secret mission bit). The perceived need and reasons for engagement can be independent again from the actual outcomes of the project, which may or may not have been intentional (hidden again, sometimes even from those who instigated the project in the first place!).
A framework for arts project’s inputs and outcomes
‘We did an art workshop about domestic violence and that’s when we adopted the art. We got the interest. None of us ladies ever painted before. You look at it and you’d never think that we never painted before. We’re just gifted all this hidden talent. It’s just natural, hey. It really is, you know? And its good for ‘em, y’know? It’s amazing. I often sit here and look around and tell these ladies, you know I wouldn’t have thought you’d have it in ya. The progress has come a long way. From the first one, you know? And to look around now, gawd!’
As already mentioned the outcomes of the project may be totally unrelated to the desired outcomes, or perceived need for the project, which again, may be different from the motivation of the participants for wanting to get involved. Often, though, the outcomes produce a positive feedback loop with the result of building both individual and community capacity, as well as providing proof of the outcomes to build more support and funding for future projects.
‘Makes you feel proud too, you know. You had an input into everything’s that happen, you know. With our town, it looks good. I reckon that when the kids see that too, you’re role models and they respect what you do and they don’t destroy it and that. No trouble with vandalism or anything like that, its been good.’
‘If you have a healthy and well functioning individual, then you have a healthy community. If you do things that are visible, like the arts are, that makes you feel good about yourself, and if you feel good about yourself then everything else functions good. That’s what I believe any way. I use the arts all the time.’
Friday, August 8, 2008
Arts in the Murchison
* provides intense personal, intellectual and spiritual engagement
* source of relaxation
* entertainment
* social opportunities
* communication
* express ideas
* strengthen social bonds
* increases participation in decision making
* increases creativity in decision making
* builds community capacity
* strengthens identity
* sense of place
* provides meaning
* pleasure
* emotional stimulation
I wanted to explore some of these ‘reasons for arts engagement’ and started to collect data and interview people on the arts in their communities. I spent just under two weeks in three shires within the Murchison region. The Murchison region broadly relates to the catchment area of the Murchison River and encompasses pastoral, mining and indigenous communities within Western Australia’s Mid West region.
Creating great art
For the most part, the community acknowledged different levels of arts engagement. There was a distinction made between professional artists, who worked solo and produced high value works of art and those who engaged as a hobby, recreation and social reasons.
“There is different levels when it comes to art. First you’ve got your acknowledged artists and they need to be supported somehow with accessing material at an affordable level, helping them to market their product. That’s difficult to do in a town like this, again, because you’ve got that family group dynamic.”
Many artists interviewed downplayed the social aspects of art groups and even went so far to suggest that belonging to an art group had a detrimental effect on creativity and the artistic integrity of their work. One artist suggested that he noticed a distinct change in his work after going to the art group for a while. He tended to paint more scenic and landscape pictures, lamenting the subsequent lack of integrity and artistic edge.
“A Saturday morning art group used to meet…the group was mostly for gossip and catching-up and was made of the partners of workers and miners in town. The group no longer exists. It was more about the ‘social’ than the art. The art produced was less expressive with less meaning.”
Networking and Socialising
Testament to the number of craft, pottery and quilting groups across rural Australia is the social and networking opportunities affording by belonging to such groups. The participants themselves would not normally consider themselves artists and their produce was often made for charity, friends and family. There is a lack of recognition and appreciation of craft as art because of the focus of craft as a hobby and not as a profession.
“There are individual artists doing their own thing, and then there’s a group of people who get together to do craft stuff, but I think I there is a loss of understanding of how that is art in some way, because they tend to see that as hobby and not art.”
The socialising and networking opportunities afforded by such groups works well for a small population when there is not a critical mass to make other activities, like sporting teams viable. The craft groups bring disparate groups together, providing social opportunities and a meeting place. This is of particular importance for this region where distance and isolation can be drivers for depression and other mental health issues.
“All the station ladies have a key and can use the centre whenever they want. The group is wonderful for the wellbeing of the station ladies. Gives them a place to hang out when they come to town. To have a cup of tea and to do some art while waiting to pick up the kids.”
With a particular reference to the indigenous communities it seems that visual art, craft and music plays a powerful role in bringing people together. This is of considerable significance when there is, not just historical and racial divisions in a community, but also divisions between different family or skin groups.
“The art has helped to break the ice. [The service] is now more like a drop-in centre. The families in this town do not participate in activities across skin groups.”
Entertainment and a good night out
Touring shows can provide light relief and an escape from the mundane hum-drum of everyday life. It is also interesting that touring shows and concerts bring a lot more people out of the woodwork. Attendance figures at a recent touring production of a play based around shearing teams show greater participation by the community than could be afforded by any other form of arts activity. People might not necessarily want to commit the time or the energy to putting on their own play or starting a drama group, but a commitment of a couple of hours to watch a show provides much needed light entertainment and relief, as well as social opportunities without any ongoing or longer term commitment.
As already mentioned there is a distinction made between the professional artists and those who engage in the arts and craft for hobby or recreation. They both provide pleasure and recreation on an individual level, but they also have the potential to provide additional income for the artist through sales to tourists. It was not unusual in this region for handmade trinkets and other items by local artisans and craft people to be offered for sale at the tourist centre, craft shops and local public houses.
The problem with the tourist market is that the difficulties with getting materials means that items are not always the best quality, and often underpriced. They provide a cash income to locals, but this practise is often criticised as it undermines the development of integrity within the work as the temptation for a quick sale means the work is often not developed, documented, or even paying the artist what its worth. The artist looses out in the long term because they are not given an opportunity to build a body of work, and develop their own style for an international market with the potential for much higher returns.
“The indigenous people paint strictly for money. They are chasing the tourism dollar.”
Positive Alternatives
The arts provide time for reflection and introspection, especially when quiet and safe spaces, such as a women’s centre, are dedicated to art.
“It can be used therapeutically as well. A lot of women like to come together around painting. So [a social worker] just bought a lot of canvas and paint and stuff and just set it out there and women started coming… as they’re painting they start talking… as they got to know her they started opening up to her and talk more.”
The same principle applies to young people. The arts, especially music and dance, is seen by many as a positive alternative for destructive or anti-social behaviour, such as vandalism, graffiti and other petty crime. The arts activity provides a focus for the young people which can take place in a safe and supervised environment.
“This place is boring, you have youth wondering around, adults wondering around, bored to tears.”
Art in this sense not only assists in helping know your own abilities and provide a sense of achievement, but provides an alternative to what would otherwise be considered destructive and anti-social behaviour. The arts activity takes place in a safe venue and provides a haven for individuals to spend time for themselves and not be concerned with family issues.
Expanding career opportunities
Difficulties with both the nature of the population and the funding structures has restricted many projects to one-off, short term, however this is not always seen as a negative. One-off projects help the community identify talent, expand career opportunities and develop networks and relationships within and across communities and across agencies and different groups. On-off projects have provided formal qualifications, opportunities and experience which benefit the participants beyond the life of the project.
“its not just a once-off thing, and it helps us identity talent that we can support out of this town. Hopefully some of them will go on to do a few things, they don’t all have to become stars, but they could become art teachers or music teachers or whatever.”
In one participant’s case, a one-off workshop provided training that helped her get a job in a neighbouring town. Furthermore as these opportunities are not available on a regular basis, local residents, and particularly children and young people, don’t have the opportunity to know what is possible, to know what kind of future they could want for themselves. So many talents and potentials may go untapped and unnoticed simply because people were never given an opportunity to know what is possible.
“I think, if people can start seeing a future for themselves, a little bit of light down the tunnel, that it gives them hope and a sense of purpose… for a long time I think for a large part of this community there was just no vision for a future, it was just surviving day by day.”
Conclusions
Just from personal observations, there is a large number of very creative people residing in these towns and their reasons for engagement in the arts are just as diverse as the forms and ways in which that engagement can take place. I have demonstrated here a full spectrum of reasons for engaging in the arts from personal achievement and pleasure, to social opportunities and a supplementary income, as well as a means to develop skills, provide time-out and hope for the future.
Thank you for reading this far – boy, it’s a long one isn’t it? I look forward to receiving any feedback on some of the issues I have raised.
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