{"id":13108,"date":"2019-02-11T13:25:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T02:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=13108"},"modified":"2021-08-30T16:27:55","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T06:27:55","slug":"how-to-increase-your-communitys-creativity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/how-to-increase-your-communitys-creativity\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Increase Your Community\u2019s Creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, I was at the Glen Street Theatre<\/a> talking on a panel discussing community art and creativity. I was joined by fellow passionate community creatives: public artist Greg Stonehouse<\/a>, architect and illustrator Miguel Gonzalez<\/a>, and Aboriginal art advocate Aunty Clair Jackson<\/a>. Our task was to read and comment on our local council\u2019s draft \u2018Arts & Creativity Strategy\u2019<\/a>, which outlines changes our council wants to make to increase our community\u2019s participation in art and creativity, to improve everyone’s wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a wealth of empirical evidence,\u201d <\/em>the draft strategy explains, \u201cthat shows the strong contributions the arts can make to society \u2013 positively contributing to community cohesion, health and wellbeing, education, economy and protecting our natural environment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More people participating in art and creativity? Count me in! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I actually wasn\u2019t at my best on the panel because I had a cold(!), but I did what I could to comment on the council\u2019s three main strategy outcomes \u2013 better places and spaces, diverse programs and activations, and active participation and engagement. I talked about the spaces in which writers generally work, the places we seek in order to congregate, some of the programs we need in order to showcase and support our talent, and what would enable us to more easily reach into our communities to connect with others and boost the local economy. My fellow panelists commented on the strategy from their perspectives also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With limited time available, I didn\u2019t get to share all my experiences and ideas, but I will! The council has a feedback form<\/a> for anyone and everyone to make suggestions. As Mayor Michael Regan said at the beginning of the night, unless the council hears from the community, how can it know what the community wants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I first immigrated to Australia in 2001 and commenced my writing journey here, I struggled for many years to find the resources I needed to progress. Access, attitudes and proximity all formed challenges to my participation. Isolation, both physical and financial, led me to founding the Northern Beaches Writers\u2019 Group<\/a>, which I created with several founding principals based on my community experiences. It had to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n