An ecological approach to mapping remote creative practices: insights from an Australian Desert region

ABSTRACT

There is increasing recognition that the creative arts sector has a crucial role to play in supporting and sustaining communities in remote contexts. However, there are still major gaps in understanding how this sector functions in such settings, and few resources to support the design and delivery of arts research in these contexts. To help address these gaps, this article draws on findings from a three-year project, Creative Barkly, the first study of its kind to adopt an ecological approach to mapping how the creative arts sector operates in one of Australia’s remotest regions. The article touches on five core principles that underpinned our approach to mapping creative practices in this region, reflecting a design that was (1) relationships-focused, (2) strengths-based, (3) co-designed, (4) accessible, and (5) community-engaged. Drawing on our experience of conducting this research in a complex remote Australian context, the article raises questions and opportunities for further research and policy making in arts for regional development.

KEYWORDS:

• Creative arts sector
• creative mapping
• ecological research approaches
• First Nations’ arts
• regional development
• remote Australia

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our partners Barkly Regional Arts and Regional Development Australia NT, as well as all the community members who participated in this research.

Notes

1 We use the term “culture” to refer to how the arts and creativity manifest as expressions of identity, customs, knowledge, and values; and how the arts and creative sector supports cultural expression and production through events and programmes. In the Northern Territory, the term “culture” is often used to refer exclusively to First Nations’ cultural practices; however, we use it here in the broadest sense to encompass cultural production and participation for individuals and communities across the multicultural, multiethnic population of the Barkly.

2 See Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure’ (2020). Online: https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/home/remoteness±structure#:~:text=Remoteness%20Areas%20divide%20Australia%20into,and%20policy%20development%20in%20Australia.

3 The ARC Linkage Programme supports the development of partnerships between researchers, industries and communities, and encourages the exchange of skills, knowledge, and ideas in areas of need. Both BRA and RDANT had demonstrated a sustained commitment to cultural development in the Barkly Region and broader Northern Territory, and believed this project had the potential to contribute significantly to the creative arts sector in the region.

4 This research was granted ethical clearance from the Griffith Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol Number 2016/474) and the Central Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol Number CA-17-2901).

5 The terms “First Nations” and “First Nations’ Peoples” and / or “Communities” are used in this article to describe the collective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their relationship to the multiple nations from which this collective naming is drawn, and the possessive in relation to that belonging is used. Capitalisation across these terms is used to indicate both a sign of respect recognising a diverse set of cultures, and it also operates as a short-form for a proper noun, that is, First Nations’ Peoples of the meta-country known as Australia (O’Sullivan, 2016).

6 The term “Country” is capitalised in this article to describe First Nations’ Country or Countries affiliation and belongingness. Country is an essential ontological concept for many First Nations’ Peoples, and it aids in sharing their relationship to land, place and a sense of belonging (Carlson, 2016). Being on-Country is referred to by some participants as a vital element of artistic practice and in fostering and maintaining a sense of wellbeing.

7 This data is contained in various datasets within the 2011 and 2016 Australian Census. According to the Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage, the Barkly was in the bottom 2% of regions across Australia in terms of socioeconomic advantage in 2016: see Profile.id, ‘RDA Northern Territory: SEIFA by profile area’ (2020). Online: https://profile.id.com.au/rda-northern-territory/seifa-disadvantage-small-area.

8 Yarning is a First Nations’ cultural form of conversation that privileges building respectful relationships. The use of a yarning circle (or dialogue circle) is an important process within Aboriginal culture and Torres Strait Islander culture and has become an important method, promoting relational accountability in participatory research that involves First Nations’ communities in Australia (Barlo et al., 2021; Bessarab & Ng'andu, 2010).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Research Council.

Notes on contributors

Brydie-Leigh Bartleet

Brydie-Leigh Bartleet is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Professor at the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Creative Arts Research Institute, Griffith University (Australia). She is one of the world’s leading community music scholars whose research has advanced our understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and educational benefits of music and the arts in First Nations’ Communities, prisons, war affected cities, educational and industry contexts. She has worked on six nationally competitive grants, seven research consultancies with leading arts and social sector organisations, and five prestigious fellowships totalling well over $3 million. She is the President of the Social Impact of Music Making (SIMM) international research platform (2021–2024), Associate Editor of the International Journal of Community Music, a Senior Research Fellow with the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community (LCMC) in Canada (2021–2024), and is the co-founder of the Asia Pacific Community Music Network. She has served as Director of the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (2015–2021) and Deputy Director (Research) of the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (2016–2021). She has served on the Board of Music Australia (2013–2021), and served as Chairperson and Commissioner of the International Society for Music Education’s Community Music Activities Commission (2010–2016). In 2014 she was awarded the Australian University Teacher of the Year, and in 2022 she will be a Fulbright Scholar at New York University Steinhardt (awarded 2020).

Sarah Woodland

Sarah Woodland is a researcher, practitioner, and educator in applied theatre and community engaged arts. She has over 25 years’ experience in the arts and cultural sectors in Australia and the UK, with a particular focus on role of performing arts in social justice and wellbeing. Sarah has taught theatre to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and was a Research Fellow on the ARC Linkage Project “Creative Barkly” (2016–2019), led by Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Griffith University. She is a Chief Investigator on the project “Listening to Country: Exploring the Value of Acoustic Ecology with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in Prison” (funded by the Lowitja Institute in 2017 and supported by QCRC). She has numerous scholarly publications on theatre and performance, and has collaborated with diverse communities and groups on creative research projects in theatre, audio drama and soundscape. Sarah is currently Dean’s Research Fellow in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, where she is leading a portfolio of research investigating role of theatre in criminal justice and health contexts.

Naomi Sunderland

Naomi Sunderland is an Australian Research Council Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award Fellowship holder (2021–2014) studying the effects of Australian First Nations’ music on social and cultural determinants of health. Naomi is located across the School of Health Sciences and Social Work and the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre at Griffith University, Australia. She is a descendant of the Wiradjuri First Nations’ People of Australia. Naomi has an extensive research and publishing record in anti-colonial, participatory, creative, place based, and community-based research in the areas of arts-health, well-being, First Nations’ social justice, and arts-based development. Naomi has taught in the First Peoples and Social Justice team at Griffith University and specialises in topics concerning transformative intercultural and immersive education, arts-health, health determinants, equity, and anti-oppressive practice. She has a PhD in applied ethics and human rights from the Queensland University of Technology.

Sandy O’Sullivan

Sandy O’Sullivan is a Wiradjuri, transgender academic in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University. They work across creative practice, gender and queer studies, the body, and in the field of Critical Race. As a part of their work with the Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, they are carrying out a 4-year Australian Research Council Future Fellowship on queer Indigenous creative practice: Saving Lives, mapping the influence of LGBTIQ+ Creative Artists. In recent years, Sandy completed a multi-year review of First Nations representation and engagement in national museum spaces, and a review of First Nations dance and theatre for the Australia Council for the Arts.