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.’
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