Brisbane City Council Showcase
Creative Democracy - Homelessness
- Where we began
- Methods used to involve people
- On the journey
- Where we ended up
- What we have learnt
- Keeping it going
Where we began
The purpose of Creative Democracy, as a program, is to promote an appreciative inquiry and creative approach that engages the citizens of Brisbane in the life of the city. This approach will raise the level of informed civic debate and community capacity to respond to issues of urban life. (Creative Democracy - Homelessness Brief Brisbane City Council, October 2003.)
In October 2003 independent arts organisation the Australian Network for Arts and Health (ANAH), in partnership with Open Minds, was engaged by Brisbane City Council to produce Creative Democracy - Homelessness (CDH). CDH is a pilot project, aligned with the vision of a Creative City and Inclusive City, and part of Brisbane City Council’s Vision 2010. It used art and creative processes to engage the citizens of Brisbane to find solutions to the issue of homelessness in our city.
The specific aims of Creative Democracy - Homelessness were:
- To reduce community complacency about the growing level of homelessness.
- To demonstrate how arts and culture can facilitate community engagement and creative solutions to difficult social issues.
- To develop active citizenship and new connections, relationships that lead to new solutions.
- To explore and evaluate the project, and provide recommendations for development.
Methods used to involve people
From October 2003 to June 2004:
Stage 1: Engagement and direct art practice with homeless people and community and government agencies which provide services and accommodation for homeless people.
A Community Reference Group was created and a professional photographer, writer and community cultural development worker were employed to create and collate photos and stories of homeless people and some of the service providers.
Stage 2: Wider community engagement, public participation and exposure to both the issues of homelessness in Brisbane, mainly through the photos and stories gathered in Stage 1.
There were a number of individual events and activities aimed at the mainstream Brisbane public, including:
- Created images and text screened in several outdoor locations:
- Queensland Performing Arts Centre;
- Brisbane city centre buildings facing King George Square (Visible Ink Festival);
- Griffith University, Queensland College of Art at Southbank; and
- Parade Green, Kelvin Grove Terrace Screen.
- At the Visible Ink Youth Festival, King George Square:
- King George Square - local politicians, Brisbane identities, and key welfare stakeholders sat and chatted in a bedroom installation in support of homeless people;
- a discussion panel on homelessness talked with media and community; and
- winners of high schools poster competition were announced and entrants' exhibition held.
- At Southbank:
- "Sweetness of Life" installation at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre Window ground level.
- exhibition from high schools posters competition and Queensland College of Art Live Worm Studio postcards @ QPAC; and
- a free BBQ with real steak, salad, quality bread and other fresh food for homeless participants, hosted by Lions Clubs.
- And distributed through Council Libraries and Regional Business Centres:
- a run of postcards designed by students at the Liveworm studio at Queensland College of Art for the project; and
- a poster run created from the winning entries of the high school poster competition.
Stage 3: Evaluation of the project model, the effectiveness of the program and the gathering of ideas and solutions about homelessness in Brisbane. This evaluation was conducted throughout the entire project.
On the journey
Creative Democracy - Homelessness was a complex pilot project that attempted to manage important ethical issues, the complex nature of community cultural development as an art form and the intricacies of engaging the wider public in a complicated social issue such as homelessness.
During the project development, it became obvious that the project was complex and the expectations were high, demanding changes to its delivery.
The key successes to the implementation of this project include:
- experienced and skilful community cultural development coordinators and artists;
- community sector commitment and willingness to be actively involved;
- support from various participants and project partnerships;
- relationships developed with participants, including homeless people, homeless sector organisations, students at schools and tertiary institutions;
- involvement of a wide range of stakeholders;
- recognition of the diverse nature of social issues such as homelessness;
- recognition of the aspirations of homeless people themselves, particularly with regard to the language used; and
- understanding of public relations consultants with both the objectives and the sensitivity of the project.
Where we ended up
Some selected outcomes:
- homelessness continues to be part of the program of Brisbane City Council;
- there were direct donations of blankets, household items and funds to organisations;
- an exhibition in the Supreme Court Foyer;
- exhibition of the photos in a current homelessness project - Footprints along Kurilpa;
- value of media coverage estimated at $600 000; and
- invitations to speak regarding Community Democracy - Homelessness to project coordinators and artists.
What we have learnt
Effective community engagement is a difficult task across the whole of a city the size of Brisbane, and requires a longer timeframe than that offered by this pilot project.
Key community engagement learnings of this case study include:
- development of the conceptual framework of the project should be considered as a separate stage to the delivery of the project, so that there is clarity about the outcomes and resources from the beginning of the relationships with artists;
- effective community engagement requires a wide understanding and appreciation of issues important to the broad community with whom we wish to engage;
- developing and maintaining relationships and partnerships with the homeless sector is vital if further outcomes for this project are to be realised;
- effective relationship building requires an understanding and appreciation of issues important to people who are homeless;
- effective engagement requires time commitment and consideration of logistical difficulties caused by social and economic isolation for homeless people;
- effective engagement requires time commitment in order to deal with the knowledge overload of the broad community with whom we are trying to engage in a dialogue about a specific issue;
- engagement processes should include the needs of a variety of community groups, people from culturally and linguistically different backgrounds, as well as people who are very different in age, mental and physical abilities;
- engagement processes need to contribute to the building of community, family and individual capacity; and
- art has the capacity to engage people at unexpected and emotional levels, without being confrontational.
Keeping it going
There are two parts to this project. As a project in its own right, dealing with complex and important issues, the relationships that have been developed through Creative Democracy – Homelessness are important to its success.
It is important for those relationships, that the process continues, both for the sector and for the continuing engagement of the broader community. There have been many suggestions from participants regarding next possible steps, from commissioning artists to develop billboard art, to creating a series of street banners, to writing stories with people who are experiencing homelessness for postcards.
As a pilot project, it demonstrated a way of working, using arts and creative processes to engage the community in civic dialogue. Instead of approaching homelessness as a problem, Creative Democracy used the framework of Appreciative Inquiry through the arts to uncover the aspirations of both people who are homeless, and the broader community. It is planned that further Creative Democracy projects will continue to explore this positive and creative way of working with communities.
For further information, please contact Sheryl Anderson, Community Arts Officer at email sheryl.anderson@brisbane.qld.gov.au.
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