Throughout the Regional Arts and Social Impact project, the research team asked community members to describe the role that arts, culture and creativity play in their community. These five digital stories created through the life of the project frame the research findings through the voices of research participants in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania and central western Queensland.
Creating thriving communities
Arts, culture and creativity are drivers of innovation and sustainability in rural, regional and remote communities. Community members in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania and central western Queensland highlight the value of place-based art, culture and creative activity for enhancing liveability and supporting their communities to survive and thrive amid socioeconomic change.
Creating wellbeing and social cohesion
Rural, regional and remote communities are embracing local art, culture and creativity to foster social inclusion and enhance whole of community wellbeing and cohesion. In northwest lutruwita/Tasmania and central western Queensland, community members identify collective wellbeing, pride, hope, and increased belonging and cohesion as some of the foremost aims and outcomes of arts and cultural engagement.
The role of place in the creativity of northwest lutruwita/Tasmania
Arts, culture and creativity assist with community regeneration, defining and articulating the identity of a town or region, and establishing liveability. Community members in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania describe local arts, culture and creativity as inherently informed and shaped by place, while also articulating the profound placemaking, place-shaping functions of their arts and cultural activities.
Creating sustainable futures in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania
The value of arts and culture in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania is centred on building cohesion, tolerance and connectedness within the community. Community members position art, culture and creativity (including creative thinking and arts-based solutions to pressing challenges) as an essential part of the community’s future across social, economic and environmental domains.
Creating inclusive communities in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania
Community members in northwest lutruwita/Tasmania identify inclusivity, local social connectedness and community cohesion as defining features and functions of local arts, culture and creativity. Arts and cultural events and creative activities offer inclusive and accessible avenues for civic participation, for connecting and belonging with others, and powerful tools for fostering individual and collective wellbeing.