The Regional Arts Park (RAP) is FREE representation for established artists, within an innovative, interactive, digital platform to display their work and promote them as an artist – online. Designed by Deakin University in partnership with Pop Up Art.
It aims to:
- promote creatives and artists, with integrated exhibition and sale of art work
- facilitate relevant storytelling about their communities
- strengthen engagement, exposure and market reach of the creative industry sectors.
As an imaginative and immersive digital world RAP creatively reflects the physical, economic, emotional and social environment of the community. Local community challenges are highlighted through the lens of creative response.
It’s a place where online discussion can be incorporated for creative problem-solving of strategic issues, local/regional sustainability, community resilience and adaptability; as well as the shared challenges of working creatively within Regional Victoria.
Approach
The focus will be on telling stories visually and creatively. All participants are encouraged to think strategically about the future of the region.
Reach
As a digital community, RAP enables wider access and greater local/trans local/global reach for creatives, artists and their work. It is linked to community priorities to engage a broader audience in garnering greater support for the community’s concerns.
Functional Description
Entry to the RAP website is a simple online navigation open broadly to arts audiences and the general public. It is composed of three interactive zones which immerse participants in the regional arts environment:
Zone: | Description: |
RAP Arts Café (reception) | Main entry to the park itself – all visitors enter here |
RAP Gallery + exhibitions | Individual artists’ gallery [selected artists] Concurrent exhibitions on specific themes (may also be developed) |
Environmental sensorium | There will be an ongoing exhibition within innovative chambers, displaying various themes with responses by artists and other creatives of various disciplines [ in group shows ] Initial 2020 exhibition focus: Four Elements – earth, air, fire, water Soundtrack, animation for sensory experience to engage creative discussion |
Future developments of RAP will be shaped by the ArtsACTION participants and other interested creatives and artists. This might include artist digital residencies and a town-hall-events style digital pavilion.
Theoretical Rationale
The RAP reconfigures and extends David Throsby’s values from Economics and Culture 2001:
Aesthetic value | Properties of beauty, harmony, form as component of cultural value within the digital storyworld, and the community |
Spiritual value | Inner qualities shared by human beings as cultural environment |
Social value | Connection with others, nature of society, sense of identity and place as local/translocal communication/networks |
Historical value | Sense of continuity from past which illuminates the present as part of the discussion/issues contextualised for range of stakeholders |
Symbolic value | Cultural objects provide nature of meaning and its value to consumers of creative work, and to the wider community needing to discuss meanings |
Authenticity value | Real, original and unique artwork both installed and on sale as responses to issues of sustainability, resilience and wellbeing within the region [Environmental sensorium] |
Get involved
The Regional Arts Park is currently in development. Further details will be provided at a later date. To stay in the loop, please formally express your interest below, by completing this quick application.
In the meantime, if you’d like to get in touch, contact:
Karen Corr, Jumpleads NFP Dr Karen Le Rossignol
Phone: 0419 006 243 Phone: 0411 442 619
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
This initiative is part of Arts ACTION, activating pathways for creatives. For more information and to get involved in other opportunities on offer, visit: www.popupart.com.au/artsaction
