Cultivating Creativity + Community

Development

STARTTS - 12 May 2014Tiffany Lee-Shoy

Fairfield City Council

Overview of Presentation

• What does Council do to support arts and cultural development?

• Snapshot of the broader arts policy landscape and its impact on Fairfield

• Why do we do it?• How do we encourage CACD in the community

and within Council?• What are the rewards and challenges of an arts

based approach?

A bit about Fairfield

The multicultural capital of Australia– 53% of population born overseas, 13% arrived within

last 5 years– 70% speak a language OTE at home– 49% bi/multilingual– 20% low English proficiency

• SEIFA 2011 – 5th most disadvantaged LGA in NSW• But high levels of social capital – belonging,

safety, trust among neighbours

What does Council do to support arts and cultural development?

Facilities• Fairfield City Museum & Gallery• Fairfield School of Arts

Abdul Hekmat, Unsafe Haven

• Festivals - Moon, Carnivale, Bring It On, Showground

• Projects and Grants“Social change and creativity”

• Organisations - PYT

• Public art• Cultural Development branch

-> Arts-based projects in community safety, aged and disability, youth, parks, town centres

Integrated cultural planning

• Fairfield City Plan – “Community Wellbeing”

• Fairfield City Cultural Plan• 2005-2009 Making the Most of our Culture• 2011-2015 We are Fairfield Living Museum

• Arts and Culture in other strategic plans• Dyalgala, Strategy on Ageing, Community Safety

and Crime Prevention, Youth, Fairfield Town Centre, Bonnyrigg Vision, Cabra Strategic Plan

Some history & context• 1990 Australia Council – Arts Development in

Western Sydney (Chesterman and Schwager)

– Emphasis on cultural planning, with clear aims and strategies

• 1999 Western Sydney Arts Strategy– “At that time, Fairfield Council provided a good example of

the integration of cultural objectives within Council’s strategic plan and with this model in mind, they recommended that Councils move forward quickly to develop and implement plans”

• 2005 Regional Cultural Strategy for GWS– GWS support, network and advocacy

Fairfield had resources!

1990s – 2000s• Multicultural Arts Alliance

– Training and employment• Multicultural Arts Officers - FMRC, CFS

– MAOs worked with caseworkers and clients– Personal development, community building, employment– Although discontinued, these orgs have experienced the

benefits of arts-based approaches• Communities continue to request creative projects – cultural

maintenance, expression

Why & How does Council supports arts and cultural development?

• Historical• “Celebrate Diversity”

– Acceptance via cultural maintenance– Express identity, share traditions, adapt to change– Belonging– Participate and contribute

• “Collaborative creative activities foster cooperation, trust, respect for difference, thinking outside the box” (Jon Hawkes2009, Cultural Plan 2011)– Preconditions for civic engagement– A community that is creative and culturally engaged, is

most likely to be civically engaged too

Support CACD in the communityPrinciples:• Community-driven:

– community identifies issues– not top down

• Council’s role: – capacity building to support workers and communities to access

information, develop skills and networks for problem solving

• Diversity• Council-community relationship • Stepping stones:

– provide pathways, – grow the relationship, – expand reach and impact, further skills

Project 1: Cultural Grants

• Council annual grants program $40,000• Capacity building – idea to grant application• Focus on first-time applicants

Choir of Love (photo Bashar Hanna) Precious Moments Womens group

… and Evaluation• Findings of the 2011-2013 Evaluation of the CCD Grants

program (Dr Jemima Mowbray)

– Personal growth and confidence for participants– Skill building– Encouraging participation in community life and civic engagement– Networks and relationship building– Community well being and social cohesion

• Evaluation Toolkit for Community Arts Projects– Online resource www.livingmuseum.com.au

• Social Change for Creativity Grants Program• Mira Martic, Community Project Officer – Cultural

Development mmartic@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au

Project 2: Social Change for Creativity Link-Up

• Groups are already doing CCD• Share the expertise• Loss of peak service bodies• Promote networking and

creative based projects as part of good service delivery

• Empower workers and the communities that use CCD –peer learning, masterclasses, info dissemination

• Trusted space to share what didn’t work – not just success stories

• Council staff identified a need to support workers who used arts-based approaches in community development

Project 3: CPAN

• Grants program feeding a strategic project -> dance• Cultural Performing Arts Network (CPAN)• Seeded in Fairfield > GWS-wide FORM dance

– Marketing & promotions, auditions, industry professionals

Project 4: Artform/sector development• CCD Grant to Rumble Pictures• Emergence of filmmakers• Skill development – Digital

Stories, Pop series, Stories project

• Network, peer learning - Film Club

• Promote Fairfield LGA locations

• Screen Acting workshops• Maximum Choppage ABCTV• Locals employed as

production team, cast, extras

Project 5: Focus on intergenerational relationships

• CCD grants -> trend towards screen culture

• Digital Stories – Khmer, African, Vietnamese

• Stories about identity, family, love and basketball

• Interviewing parents about their journey -intergenerational

Project 6: Vietnamese Story Cubes• Elders storytelling• 6 images• Collective storytelling• Support• Expectations that kids

knew what happened, but without talking with them

Vietnamese Digital Stories + Vietnamese Story Cubes > desire for an(youth) (elders) intergenerational project to

improve communication

Project 7: Aussie Cuoi• Arts NSW grant• Participants aged 7-78 years• contemporary folklore• Moon Festival performanceAchievements:• 3 community discussion forums, 6 skills workshops, 6 rehearsals and 2 public performances• employed 32 members of the Vietnamese community, as performers and in professional rolesDVD + TVS for broadcast. • Seniors formed their own performance group and continue to meet regularly

Encourage CACD within Council• Advocate and be persistent and

positive• Demonstrate how it is

relevant/adds value to other branches

• A personal experience• Timing• Integrate arts into other

strategic plans• Deepened community

engagement & ownership• Recognise that the project will

take longer – factor in the time

Photos: Urs Buhlman

Project 8: Placemaking

• Westacott Cottage + IWHS• “women feel unsafe in Fairfield TC”• Craft + connection & expression in public space• Engaged Place Manager > Interwoven now a program of public art

Project 9: Domestic & Family Violence• Addressed low DV reporting

rates of Vietnamese and Arabic speaking communities

• Cabra LAC, Fairfield DV Committee

• Community Safety Plan• Lack of culturally appropriate

material addressing cultural beliefs

• Information, facilitation, support

• FAMILY MATTERS - 20 min.DVD

CACD in the Age of EfficiencyManagerialism

• Measurement• KPI’s

• Risk management

• Community consultation

• Outcome-focused• Strategies “on the shelf”• Style of writing• Independence/ silo

Creative cultural approaches• CCD Grants Evaluation report

& Toolkit• Give value to the Qualitative• Engage Risk Manager early

on -> Documentation• Deeper community

engagement & ownership• Desired outcome can

determine the process• Which means they are ready!• Write poetry, be inspired• Relationship building

Tiffany Lee-ShoyManager Cultural Development9725 0326tleeshoy@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au

Mira MarticCPO - Cultural Development9725 0757mmartic@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au

Carmel AielloCo-ordinator, Museum & Gallery9725 0192caiello@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au