ReNew Year’s Resolution
Happy New Year Antipodean Absintheurs & Libertines
This year, instead of sticking to crusty old New Year’s Resolutions, why not get involved in making a Renew Year’s Resolution?
Urban renewal for artistic endeavour is a growing movement internationally, but probably the best example in Australia has been the Renew Newcastle project. These canny Novocastrians find short and medium term uses for buildings in Newcastle’s CBD that are currently vacant, disused or awaiting redevelopment and matches them with artists, cultural projects and community groups to use.
It is a problem common to all cities – urban sites are boarded up, heavily vandalised or decaying because the is no short term for use them and no one taking responsibility for them. The Renew Newcastle project has actually been instrumental in turning a primarily industrial and mining town into a thriving arts community, and shaming many a capital city in terms of public accessibility to the arts.
And now it is Adelaide’s turn. Renew Adelaide is a non-profit, artist run initiative following the lead of Renew Newcastle, that also believe artist and community run spaces have the power to transform cities. Like it’s forerunner, they aim to fill empty spaces and disused buildings in and around the city of Adelaide with artist and community run ventures, with the minimum possible cost to those involved.
Both the Newcastle and Adelaide venture have Facebook groups you can join, so keep up with the developments.
More projects like this should be started nationally, and to help prevent other potential hubs of artistic creativity becoming another Sydney (albeit there is some hope). Melbourne is on top of it in another way with their CreativeSpaces project. So what’s going on in your town? – email us and let us know.
Stop Press
By happy coincidence, ABC Radio National program Life Matters featured an interview on the 6 January 10 with Renew Newcastle founder Marcus Westbury on his urban artistic renewal project – mp3 audio available here.
