collective art/social art – art as communality

Creativity is good for us – as individuals it makes us well and happy, as a society it strengthens equity and security, as a community it builds resilience, cohesion and has the potential to build an economy that is sustainably progressive and exponentially prosperous. 

This is the founding philosophy of the Kensington Arts Group; an intentional, collective community effort, to bring art and creativity to life in Kensington; to bring the community together and make it a better place to live.

In October 2010, a couple of neighbour’s letter dropped the neighbourhood and called a community meeting.  Ten people turned up and called themselves the Kensington arts group. Since then there have been a music night and a poetry evening in the local pubs, a month long gates festival involving local schools, kindy’s and residents, a secular walking Christmas carol singing night and a film screening night at the local Norwood pool.

The Kensi arts group is strongly supported by the Kensington Residents Association – which also provides the valuable framework and capacity for other similar ‘by the people’ initiatives.

Whilst we busy ourselves in being prosperous, our elderly are often left to feel redundant, our young can have little connection to their local community, and our sense of place is often strongest where we work, not where we live.  This is about actively challenging those things.

It’s not about the interests of one particular person or group – it’s about creating a platform and opportunities to harness the individual creativity of all residents, young and old, local school students and families, local artists and local businesses, through art and creative initiatives. The group reflects diversity of age, experience, perspective and interest and there is a genuine effort to incorporate those varied talents to achieve something satisfying for both community and participants.

The Kensi arts group is about creating a platform for the local community, by the local community, to come together to share something.

 Trish Hansen, Kensi Art Group

March 30, 2012 | Categories: ART, Community, Socialising, thinking through the city, Well-Being | Leave A Comment »