A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities

Despite the significance of rural Australia to national identity, many commentators claim that rural Australia is in crisis and suffering from decline as a consequence of economic restructuring and policy reform (Gray & Lawrence 2001; Sonn, Drew & Kasat 2002; Baum, O'Connor & Stimso...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Anwar McHenry, Julia
Format: Journal Article
Published: eContent Management Pty Ltd 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27453
_version_ 1848752267994333184
author Anwar McHenry, Julia
author_facet Anwar McHenry, Julia
author_sort Anwar McHenry, Julia
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Despite the significance of rural Australia to national identity, many commentators claim that rural Australia is in crisis and suffering from decline as a consequence of economic restructuring and policy reform (Gray & Lawrence 2001; Sonn, Drew & Kasat 2002; Baum, O'Connor & Stimson 2005; Tonts & Atherley 2005). As a result, the social wellbeing of people living in rural Australia has become an issue of major national significance. Despite a number of commentators suggesting that the arts could play a crucial role in the contribution to the social wellbeing of rural communities, there is an absence of thorough research in this field (Kingma 2002; Matarasso 1997; Mills & Brown 2004; Williams 1995). The most rigorous research into the benefits and impact of the arts has been conducted with a focus on individual health and wellbeing in a clinical and therapeutic setting. Extensive research in a community setting however is somewhat limited. This paper demonstrates, through a review of the current literature, the place for the arts in rural revitalisation and therefore, the social wellbeing of a community, directly through tourism, income generation and employment opportunities, and indirectly by enhancing participation and creativity in public decision-making, strengthening community capacity, and strengthening identity and sense of place.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T08:05:55Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-27453
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:05:55Z
publishDate 2009
publisher eContent Management Pty Ltd
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-274532017-02-28T01:47:31Z A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities Anwar McHenry, Julia arts participation social wellbeing capacity community development rural communities creativity culture Despite the significance of rural Australia to national identity, many commentators claim that rural Australia is in crisis and suffering from decline as a consequence of economic restructuring and policy reform (Gray & Lawrence 2001; Sonn, Drew & Kasat 2002; Baum, O'Connor & Stimson 2005; Tonts & Atherley 2005). As a result, the social wellbeing of people living in rural Australia has become an issue of major national significance. Despite a number of commentators suggesting that the arts could play a crucial role in the contribution to the social wellbeing of rural communities, there is an absence of thorough research in this field (Kingma 2002; Matarasso 1997; Mills & Brown 2004; Williams 1995). The most rigorous research into the benefits and impact of the arts has been conducted with a focus on individual health and wellbeing in a clinical and therapeutic setting. Extensive research in a community setting however is somewhat limited. This paper demonstrates, through a review of the current literature, the place for the arts in rural revitalisation and therefore, the social wellbeing of a community, directly through tourism, income generation and employment opportunities, and indirectly by enhancing participation and creativity in public decision-making, strengthening community capacity, and strengthening identity and sense of place. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27453 eContent Management Pty Ltd restricted
spellingShingle arts
participation
social wellbeing
capacity
community development
rural communities
creativity
culture
Anwar McHenry, Julia
A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities
title A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities
title_full A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities
title_fullStr A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities
title_full_unstemmed A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities
title_short A place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of Australian rural communities
title_sort place for the arts in rural revitalisation and the social wellbeing of australian rural communities
topic arts
participation
social wellbeing
capacity
community development
rural communities
creativity
culture
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27453