Why Canberra’s creativity is not locked down
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Way back in 2020, when lockdowns were a novel idea, we were urged not to waste a moment of our downtime.
Isaac Newton, we were told, laid the groundwork for his theory of gravity and invented calculus during the Great Plague of London. Shakespeare, so the story goes, penned his best poetry, as well as King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra during one nasty outbreak of plague. “Good for him,” was the response of many. “I’m off to play Mario Kart.”
So, this is not a story about why we should be using every minute of lockdown to compose symphonies, write sonnets or craft models of cathedrals from matchsticks. Sitting on the sofa for long stretches while binge-watching Netflix or scrolling through social media seems as reasonable a response to lockdown as any.
But I’ve noticed, during my misspent hours on social media, that lots of us are whiling away the lockdown with paintbrushes or knitting needles in hand, planting gardens or making music, finishing those long-forgotten sewing projects or learning a new instrument.
Lockdowns appear to bring out the creativity in us—an observation that is backed by research. One US study published earlier this year found that students engaged in slightly yet statistically significantly more in creative activities during lockdowns.
The ACT normally has the highest rates of attendance at cultural venues and events in the country, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as well as the greatest participation in cultural pursuits. With our cultural playgrounds closed, we’ve had to make our own fun.
How people are adapting their places in response to COVID-19 is a topic that fascinates data analytics pioneer and cofounder of Neighbourlytics, Jessica Christiansen-Franks. Just a few weeks ago, before our city closed in on itself, Salon Canberra beamed Jessica into a luncheon to understand what is happening around the country at the neighbourhood level.
Jessica spent more than two decades as a landscape architect and town planner. But she became frustrated that her best insights into the neighbourhoods she was shaping were uncovered through a very inexact science—by pounding the pavement and speaking to people on the street. So, she turned to technology for help.
Every day, people leave behind millions of digital data points about what we like, who we interact with and how we connect with places. We check-in at a bar, upload a photo onto Instagram, tag a friend or write a review on TripAdvisor. This “social chatter” reveals local insights based on real human behaviour.
Together with her co-founder Lucinda Hartley, Jessica has built a digital analytics platform that analyses this social chatter. ‘There is an interconnectedness between what people love and what they share,” Jessica told the Salon Canberra audience. “Photos of street art, lining up for gigs… that’s someone showing the value of something.”
Jessica Christiansen-Franks. Image supplied.
During lockdowns we don’t leave a physical footprint, we leave a digital one, she said. So, what has Neighbourlytics discovered?
Firstly, that creativity has gone from public to personal. While creative events are locked down, creative activities turn inside.
In 2020, Neighbourlytics tracked a 100% increase in local engagement with art and design in Sydney, and 42% increase in Melbourne, for example. People posted photos of their own art when they couldn’t take a selfie at the latest gallery opening.
At a micro level, places that are home to lots of theatres, galleries and cultural events record the highest engagement with cultural activity and creativity in the home, Jessica told the Salon Canberra audience.
“That migration of activity into the home can be used as a litmus test for communities, where places are so thirsty for creative expression because they can’t get out and access creativity, that it had sprung up in homes.”
Canberrans really do value art and culture and this, I hope, is a point of positivity for our creatives currently doing it tough. Because we know, as Jessica’s data tells us, that local economic ecosystems centred on creative industries have been heavier hit than those neighbourhoods with more diverse activities.
Creativity and culture enhance the wellbeing, pride and positivity of communities. “There’s a huge halo effect from creative industries,” Jessica said. But COVID has also exposed hidden vulnerabilities in these most-loved and once-vibrant communities. With dining destinations and cultural meccas now shuttered, the vitality of entire neighbourhoods is at stake. “A shift in activity has an impact on overall place attachment,” she warned.
What can we do?
Jessica said last year’s lockdown taught us that attractions should tap into local interests and hobbies to engage their audience online until they can reopen. Many Canberra creatives are doing this very well, and I remain inspired by people like Julie Nichols who was able to transform her handmade market business to bring local designers and makers together to sell their products via a new online marketplace.
Jessica Christiansen-Franks speaking via Zoom at the Salon Canberra lunch held at aMBUSH Gallery at Kambri. Photo: Rohan Thomson.
We can also make sure we have space for our creative industries when the COVID-19 crisis abates. Jessica pointed to a recent piece of research for Creative Victoria, which examined 50 regional towns to understand what makes them quintessentially creative. Some of the “real winners” were surprises, she said.
“They weren’t hipster suburbs in Melbourne. They were middle industrial suburbs. That’s where artists have moved to so they can create.” (A big shout out to Strathnairn Arts Precinct at Ginninderry, Thor’s Hammer in Griffith, GOST in Watson and Grainger Gallery in Fyshwick among so many others for your amazing work helping local artists to grow).
And finally, we know creative cities grow from grassroots projects that are eclectic and eccentrically unique to place. So, keep making and baking, sewing and growing. Regardless of our medium or even our talent, we will each be contributing to our city’s creative future.
And if Netflix is more your thing at the moment, that’s OK too. Just take time to make a list of all the places you’ve missed and get ready to support our creative industries when lockdown lifts.
