Community & Connections

Renee Liang interviews Dean Merlino about the importance of community cultural development (CCD), and how artists can enhance their chance of success in a project.

Dean is from the Centre for Cultural Partnerships at The University of Melbourne and was in Auckland recently to present the seminar programme Connections Shared Experience: Fresh Insights.

Connections, an initiative led by Auckland Council in partnership with VCA (Melbourne), aims to support and profile the work of artists working in diverse communities. The seminars were held in November, with a second phase in February 2011.

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Artistic expression - whether it be in the form of words, music, movement or visuals - is increasingly being recognised as an effective way to empower communities by engaging the voices of its members.  Although much research still needs to be done, there's evidence that its effects reach far beyond the usual creative borders, with benefits for health, justice and the economy. Dean says, "When people realize they have the capacity for creative sparks it has a positive impact upon their lives.  It can boost self-esteem."  But the emphasis needs to be on the community, rather than the artist or even the artwork. "The community needs to develop its stories and voices.  Our job is to make sure that happens and to share what we can."

Dean says that an artist must deliberately use discipline and thought to transform creative sparks into lasting projects - it doesn't happen without time and hard work.  Many of us have learnt this the hard way, but in an age of instant gratification and pop-up idols, it's a valuable reminder that creativity is actually "99 per cent perspiration".

So what turns ideas into solid projects?  How can we make it easier to succeed, in both our personal creative projects and the 'big picture' ones?  Dean advocates critical thinking, tools and frameworks tailored to each individual, and (for those who have the appetite) further study.  Like banking, any time invested in this process compounds in payoff over time - and often in many directions at once.  "When people start to develop techniques and the discipline to work on improving or redrafting their creative expression, those skills are translatable into any aspect of their lives."  

Artists engaging with audiences or communities must also understand where their art comes from. "As artists we like to believe that we are breaking the mores or bounds of our culture.  But more often than not we are merely replicating, in aesthetic form, changes that are already occurring in our culture."  It's harder to accurately reflect the ideas of our time, than to go off on a wild tangent.  But it probably also has more impact.  Much as we like to moan about the hardships of being a creative, none of us would give away the chance of recording and commenting on our culture as it emerges. And it's a skill we can and should share.   

Dean is also a respected musician so his teaching comes from the point of view of an 'insider' as well as an academic who studies how artists make art.  This sense of both closeness and distance makes his teaching particularly accessible to anyone who wants to take their artistic practice to the next level.  

What's been your creative journey so far?

My artist interests have always been in music.  I have very little interest in visual or dramatic arts unless there’s a soundtrack as well.  I started playing piano when I was 9 & flute when I was 12.  I have a degree in classical music performance from WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts).  I have performed in over a dozen styles of music, including classical, Celtic and European folk music, punk rock, metal/hard rock, experimental, electronica, dark wave and ambient.  I’ve played all around Australia and done over 500 gigs.  

I love many styles of music.  I am generally attracted to any musician or band that is creating perfect examples of a style or pushing boundaries of a style. In terms of my own creativity, I love writing music by myself, but prefer to perform in groups.  I really get a buzz out of the collectivity of performance.

I also love teaching.  I began teaching flute when I was 19 and have taught in some capacity ever since.  I have taught music in schools, had my own studio, and now lecture at Melbourne University.  I believe creativity and pedagogy are indelibly intertwined.  As one develops their own creativity I think it’s critical that we pass that knowledge on to anyone interested.  I don’t believe anyone has the right to hoard knowledge.

What do you believe are the key things that identify a creative person?

I think we have to differentiate between creativity as an ‘idea’ or a ‘spark’, and creativity as a process.  In the sense of having a creative idea, I think everyone is creative.  Everyone can come up with an imaginative concept.  But, to me the interesting part of creativity is the turning of that spark into an artistic work, or a design, or a viable concept.  That takes time, technique and discipline.  I’m more interested in the development of technique and discipline rather than the spark.  When we listen to a jazz musician improvising it’s easy to assume that the player is creating spontaneously.  But, in reality they are working within often strict guidelines of what is or isn’t viable in that given moment.  Their training expands the possibilities of what they can do, but also teaches them what won’t work.  All of this comes together to make the audience think that the improvisation is ‘spontaneous’.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t encourage people to express ideas through art.  I just think that we have a responsibility, once we have encouraged people to do this, to work with them to keep developing the other skills necessary for creativity.  I think it’s very irresponsible to celebrate the expression of ideas, and then leave people in that space rather than encouraging them to take the journey further.  Many people won’t want to and that’s fine, but we should make sure that we have avenues open for those that do.

Why do you believe that creativity matters?

Creativity matters for a couple of reasons.  When people realize they have the capacity for creative sparks it has a positive impact upon their lives.  It can boost self-esteem etc.  When people start to develop techniques and the discipline to work on improving or redrafting their creative expression, those skills are translatable into any aspect of their lives.  The skills of developing an idea, of recognizing what works and what doesn’t, what’s right and what’s wrong for a situation, and of critical appraisal of our thoughts and ideas are all critical skills for everyone to develop and understand.  My experience in working with lots of children is that even a little bit of technique and discipline training has large and long-lasting effects.

Where do you focus your practice, and why have you chosen these particular communities?

These days I feel that my community is the Centre for Cultural Partnerships and the students that I teach.  I focus all my time and energy into mentoring all aspects of their skills (artistic, professional, intellectual etc).  I spend a lot of time with each individual student working with them to push the development of their practice & be the best that they can be.  Usually that entails telling them that their ideas are underdeveloped & they owe it to themselves, the sector and the communities they work with to be sharper in their thinking and more professional in their practice.

What kind of interplay should there be between "doing" and "thinking"?  Should artists analyse their own work?

Based on what I said earlier, I guess I’ve answered this question already.  There is no such thing as acting without thinking.  Even to get to that space of  ‘living in the moment’ that everyone seems to talk so much about, requires a lot of thinking and intellectual discipline.  Ironic really!  Everything we do after that initial brief spark of an idea requires the analysis of our work.  

In what ways can formal academic study (by the artist, about the artist) enhance artistic practice?

I’m a big fan of art, sport and thinking.  If you go to a concert or a football match, what you see is the performers (or players) displaying both spontaneity and technique.  As artists, we need to keep training and developing our techniques, so I am not averse to artists developing their skills at a tertiary level.  Although, I do acknowledge that many arts institutions are very backwards in their thinking and still obsess over the rather arcane notion of the artist as tortured genius.  So you have to take the good with the bad at times (which is a good skill to develop in itself!).

But… art does not occur in a bubble.  Art always and only fits within historical, social, political, philosophical and environmental contexts.  As artists we like to believe that we are breaking the mores or bounds of our culture.  But more often than not we are merely replicating, in aesthetic form, changes that are already occurring in our culture.  I think it is critical that we can understand the contexts that define our times.

I think this is especially important in CCD where we work within such strong social and political agendas.  Academic training not only gives us a chance to learn about those contexts, but also is a form of skills training.  We can develop better critical thinking skills and analytic skills to help us understand and analyse the theories that shape our times.  Those skills also help in a very practical way.  For example: If we want a local government to support local community initiatives.  Our ability to succinctly and intelligently articulate our position will engender trust and is much more likely to get the result we want.  Academic study helps in the development of both our written and verbal development of our practice.

What have you seen people achieve as a result of engaging in critical analysis?

The results that I have seen from CCD practitioners who have engaged in this way have been astounding.  I have seen practices completely transform or modernise.  I have seen people who have struggled to sustain a practice get headhunted for jobs.  I have seen communities engage in much deeper and more meaningful ways in CCD projects and some astounding artistic outcomes.  I have seen participants develop self-esteem and leadership skills; build their own artistic careers etc.  Mostly I have seen practitioners who are capable of sharing those skills with participants, which, as I have stated above, has far-reaching effects.

What are the key success factors for success as a creative?

•    99% perspiration!!! Hard work. Lots of hard work.  More hard work!
•    Enjoy what you’re doing & have fun
•    Hard work
•    A desire to share knowledge
•    Being open to other people’s ideas
•    A willingness to abandon ideas that are no longer working or relevant
•    The capacity to laugh, even at the things we take very seriously
•    There is no ‘One-size-fits-all’ solution when working with different art forms and different communities.
•    Be flexible… very, very flexible
•    Hard work!

What part does a community play in the making of a creative career?

That depends on the person.  Many artists are trying to work with communities now, but they really only want grunt workers to realize the artists own creative ideas.  They don’t involve the community in any of the decision-making or creative processes.  I find this development a little worrying, as it is really exploitive.  I think in CCD it is important to involve the community as early as possible.  This will be different in different contexts, but we should be looking to include more than exclude.  

How can creatives enhance their own engagement with a community?

Remember that CCD is about the community and not about your artistic voice.  Certainly share your knowledge and experience and acknowledge your skills, but the community needs to develop its stories and voices.  Our job is to make sure that happens & to share what we can.

What advice would you give to someone just starting their artistic career?

This would depend on what type of career a person wants.  If you want to become a visual or dramatic artist, get yourself a good manager and publicist and remember that shock and gimmick always trumps the aesthetic.  If you want to become a musician, get yourself a good manager and hook into a popular scene.  But maybe I’m being too cynical.  Love your art & do it for yourself first and foremost.  The chances that you will earn your entire living from performing only are very slim, so develop other aspects of your artform as the rest of your ‘day job’ (like music teaching, arts administration etc).

If you want to become a CCD practitioner, keep developing your artform & make sure you regularly perform or exhibit so you don’t go stale.  Then you need to understand community and what it means socially and philosophically.  You need to love working with other people and enjoy teaching/mentoring.  Learn the joys of compromise and shared successes and failures.  Work with people you can trust and delegate responsibilities.  Develop the skills of grant writing, project evaluation.  Learn to speak clearly and confidently in public.

Finally, remember that it is not your job to make community happen or save a community.  You are helping people tell their own stories and find their individual and collective voice.  Sometimes you have to do a lot of the hard work to make a project happen, but after that you should share as much of the joys and responsibilities as you can.

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Related Link: Connections Shared Experience: Fresh Insights

Forum: Community Cultural Development

This learning exchange forum focuses on community cultural development – a space to share new insight, to ask questions, to engage with, support and challenge each other.