Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity

International research project, 2009

The Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver and the Creative City Network of Canada produced this comprehensive review of research on cultural and creative business development in rural communities.  It is intended to assist rural communities to take best advantage of their creative capacity. It includes information from Canada, Australia, the United States and Europe. The study was conducted by Dr. Nancy Duxbury and Heather Campbell at Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities, Vancouver, with insightful contributions from three international collaborators:

• Kim Dunphy, Program Manager, Cultural Development Network, Melbourne, Australia
• Dr. Patrick Overton, Director, Front Porch Institute, Oregon, United States
• Dr. Lidia Varbanova, Laboratory for European Cultural Cooperation, Amsterdam; and the Centre for Intercultural and Social Development, Montréal (reviewing Europe)

The final project consists of four papers with accompanying case studies and an extensive annotated bibliography. A summary overview highlights the common themes emerging around cultural development in rural areas across the four project papers, and reoccurring critical ingredients to foster vibrant arts activity in rural and small communities. The report was developed as a partnership between the Creative City Network of Canada and the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, and with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage. All papers are available in electronic form on the Creative City Network of Canada website. Australian contribution: Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity. Annotated bibliography of Australian literature for the project Kim Dunphy Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity (Powerpoint presentation)Arts for Health conference, Port Macquarie, NSW, October 2009.