Summary
| Asialink Arts Forum 2000: | Special Projects |
Forum Contents: | Introduction | Program | Summary | Papers | Transcripts |
Summary
Art and Community; interaction between Australia and Asia Report
Asialink Arts wished to raise this topic as a general issue, but were especially focused on our coming multi-project three year program between Australia and Indonesia that links artists working with communities in both countries.
Our aim is to explore ways in which practitioners from both countries who include the wider community as a central core of their practice can interact creatively, and to encourage these projects to fruition in both countries. The Community Cultural Development Fund of the Australia Council has provided initial funding to start this program. The CCDF, as is noted in their handbook “hands ON!”, provides “funding for activities where communities take an active role in artistic collaborations with professional artists.” The outcomes include “excellent art” as well as new community relationships, strengthened identities, discussion and partnerships.
A summary of the main points.
Key outcomes
- A complex area enjoy and celebrate the complexity
- Importance of collaborative practice as the basis of working within communities
- Innovation is an important aspect of all art making enjoy the experimental side of this
- Understand that many non-Western societies engage with culture in a very meaningful way as part of their community already we can learn from this, and important to do so for us
- Importance of local determination, community control and ownership and understanding of the important positions of all stakeholders
General principles for action:
- Deal only with artists interested in working with communities accept that many aren’t
- Work with projects that link community to community
- Be inspired by the idea that artists can create new communities for their practice
Particular issues for action:
- Initial invitation or ‘entry’ point is key
- Involve diasporic Asians in Australia an interested resource
- Engage with the region in arts training for Australians AND people from the region including in community cultural development areas
- Building long term infrastructure for physical and cultural impact make sure it is sustainable
- Awareness of different art forms’ experience and capacity in this area
- Need for continuous renegotiation during the project
Caution
- Be aware of romanticisation of word ‘community’ there are many communities with many disjunctions
- Understand that political situations in a place like Indonesia will be different importance of information about a place like Indonesia before such a project commences
- Be able to renegotiate through a project, as realities change
- Be aware of the issue of colonization the issue of the power of economic inequality when aim is for cultural equality
- Be aware of hierarchies of artists and non-artists who is paid? And what and by whom?
- Need for sensitivity of disjunction between indigenous / traditional cultures and contemporary demands
Forum Contents: | Introduction | Program | Summary | Papers | Transcripts |
Alison Carroll
Manager, Arts Program
Email: a.carroll@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 61-3-9349 1899
Fax: 61-3- 9347 1768