Connections Shared Experience: Fresh Insights
There are a number of problems facing artists working in the community in New Zealand. There is the lack of peer support and mentoring, a limited access to resources and assistance as well as a lack of targeted professional development.
Artists working in the community often feel isolated and have no agency able to provide the necessary immediate or even long term assistance.
In an effort to address some of these issues a seminar programme Connections Shared Experience: Fresh Insights was held in November with a second phase in February next year.
In a first for New Zealand, this Community Cultural Development Programme (led by Auckland City Council in partnership with VCA, Melbourne) is to support and profile the work of artists working across diverse communities. A series of seminar will be presented by two leading Australian authorities; Dr Lachlan MacDowall and Dean Merlino.
The two-day seminars during November 2010 and February 2011 are intended to position community cultural development as a community based arts practice with a commitment to community collaboration, empowerment, leadership and ownership. It is a series of four days group learning, online networking and peer-support, underpinned by three group-based events.
The forums will provide an opportunity for professional development and support for around twenty senior practitioners working in the community sector.
Key objectives of Connections are;
• To support the continuing professional development of senior arts practitioners
• To facilitate creative and professional development opportunities for community artists
• To foster dialogue and exchange between participants, educators and the community at large
• To foster collaborative practice and processes
• To establish an online community that role models best practice in this discipline. This will be a collaboration between the organizers and the The Big Idea which will allow participants to keep in contact as well as allow than to share their experiences of the seminars and the impart on their ongoing projects.
DEAN MERLINO
Dean Merlino teaches in the Community Cultural Development program and Dean is currently researching pedagogic models in the delivery of Community Cultural Development in the tertiary sector, and exploring music-based metaphors in explaining the complexity of communities.
He is also a musician specializing in flute and piano performance and has extensive performance and teaching experience. He has performed across Australia in several genres including Western classical, experimental & electronic, rock, punk and folk music.
Dean’s community work has focused on producing musically based, small scale, spontaneous and incursory events/happenings, both in Perth and Melbourne. This has included work with the DIY Community House Gig Network (Melbourne), Street Theatre with Free Vistas Collective (Perth), community music events with East Timorese refugees, Union and Community groups, and presenting community radio shows
He is also a member of a research team from Bond and Deakin universities, the Uniting Church and WilliamsBoag Architects that is exploring Adaptive Building Reuse and the future of sustainability in the building sector.
DR LACHLAN MACDOWALL
Lachlan MacDowall has taught in the Community Cultural Development program since its inception in 2005. Previously, he lectured in Cultural Studies at the University of Melbourne and coordinated the research program for the Faculty of VCA and Music.
His academic research examines the theory and aesthetics of community-based art, arts-based research methods and cultural politics. His doctoral research project Bisexual Terrorism investigated the historical conjunction of bisexuality and terrorism in popular film and literature. He has published widely on contemporary cultural production, particularly graffiti and street art.
Lachlan has been involved in a range of CCD and community arts projects, including Melbourne City Council's Aerosol Art Project. He has also worked with key cultural institutions, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and regional projects, such as the Casterton Lights project and the Words in Winter Festival, Daylesford.
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Auckland CouncilNew Zealand’s largest city holds a wealth of creative talent and businesses, making it, without a doubt, New Zealand’s home of the creative industries. Auckland's unique arts, culture and creative enterprises not only enrich the cultural landscape of the city and its inhabitants but also make a vital contribution to the city’s economic success.
Auckland Council is committed to making Auckland an arts and culture centre by supporting the abundance of talented creative people who call Auckland home, and creating attractive business and lifestyle options for all who choose to live, work and play here.
The council supports the arts and creative industries in the following ways:
- Support and funding for arts organisations, artists ,arts and cultural groups
- Provision of arts facilities, such as the Art Gallery and ArtStation
- Design and delivery of a public art collection and programme
- Support of performing arts venues such as The Aotea Centre, Civic Theatre and Auckland Townhall
- Funding support for independent performing arts venues such as Q Theatre and The Basement
- Arts and creative sector research and policy and strategy such as Arts Agenda, Blueprint and Arts in Public Places – Public Art Policy
- Urban design of city environments such as Fort Street and Elliot street redevelopments
- City planning and management of projects like Aotea Quarter development
- Provision of world class library resources
- Support of industry associations and business events such as The Big Idea, ART Survive and Thrive forums and Film Auckland
- Delivery of community services to maintain and develop community and recreation facilities and centres
- Support and delivery of community and major events such as Pasifika Festival, Lantern Festival and Music in Parks
- Facilitation of film productions in the regionTo find out more about Auckland Council’s support of the creative industries and how this can benefit you or your creative business visit www.auckland.govt.nz or phone 09 379 2020
Auckland Council is proud to support The Big Idea. Through The Big Idea, Auckland Council can effectively engage with Auckland’s creative community, and promote the arts and culture services it provides.
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