Cultural Well-being Speech
Speech for Cultural Well-Being Presentation at Suter Art Gallery, Nelson, on 15 August 2006
Introduction
Kia ora and welcome councillors, council staff, Trustees and Friends of the Suter, ladies and gentleman. It is my pleasure to talk this evening about what cultural well-being is.
Legislative Framework
As you know, the Local Government Act of LGA 2002 introduced into statute the notion that local authorities have a key role in four well-being areas: social, economic, environmental and cultural. Cultural well-being was the new kid off the block.
This legislative requirement does not mean, however, that local authorities are solely responsible for cultural or indeed any of the well-beings. Central government, the voluntary sector, businesses and individuals – along with local government - all contribute to the well-beings.
Focusing on cultural well-being, what local authorities are responsible for, under the LGA 2002, is the production (every three years) of 10-year Long-Term Council Community Plans (affectionately known as LTCCPs) which demonstrate:
- An understanding of culture;
- An understanding of the integrated nature of the four well-beings;
- The development of an agreed set of desired cultural community outcomes, through consultation with the community;
- A clear process of engagement with all other relevant parties that have an interest in cultural well-being, including central government, when developing cultural community outcomes;
- Recognition that there can be regional synergies across councils and the region;
- Linkages between cultural well-being, cultural outcomes, and the council's relevant groupings of activities; and
- Measurement of, and reporting on, progress towards the achievement of cultural community outcomes.
So what is cultural well-being and what would cultural community outcomes ideally include?
What is Cultural Well-Being?
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has developed its own working definition of cultural well-being, which many local authorities now use as a base for developing their own community's understanding of cultural well-being.
[Definition shown on powerpoint:
Cultural Well-Being can be defined as t he vitality that communities and individuals enjoy through:
- participation in recreation, creative and cultural activities; and
- the freedom to retain, interpret and express their arts, history, heritage and traditions. ]
When looking at LTCCPs, the Ministry looks for showcasing of all aspects of culture in the local authority's groupings of activities and their levels of service, including:
- local heritage values such as making history and heritage accessible; taking a proactive stance on heritage protection; identifying opportunities to make history and heritage a key part of tourism and economic development;
- the promotion and accessibility of fine arts, performing arts, and creative/cultural activities such as the support of local libraries; funding of events and activities; and the role of art and creativity in tourism;
- languages, film and broadcasting such as regional and community radio and TV; permission for filming in local areas; and the promotion of languages that reflect the composition of the community;
- sport and recreation including the collection of "development contributions" through the resource consent process; and investment in and support of sport and recreation spaces, stadia, events, and activities that reflect different cultural influences;
- a sense of place including the character of urban space and its ability to connect with people and provide a space for expression; and the design, location and construction of infrastructure; and, as well,
- one of the building blocks of cultural well-being is collective identity – councils play a big part in facilitating the development and expression of this identity in their communities. Branding is important for cultural well-being, and at the same time contributes to social and economic well-being.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage recently completed a comparative analysis across 39 councils – including Nelson City Council - looking at both their 2003/2004 LTCCPs and their draft 2006 LTCCPs.
I notice that support for culture, heritage and the arts is given in Nelson's LTCCP as an example of how Council contributes to your community's goals of A Strong Economy and A Fun and Creative Culture. Central government and the community are identified as contributing to these goals too, through: arts, crafts and galleries; cafes and boutique shops; funding and grants; public artworks; heritage advocacy; and clubs and sports groups.
The Nelson City Council informs me that nearly a third of all its rates and charges revenue this year – amounting to nearly $12 million - is allocated for operating expenditure relating to things "cultural" including parks, recreation, community facilities, heritage and arts. Another $110 million of capital expenditure is forecast over the next ten years in relation to these activities (but not all funded from rates) including a proposal for a performing arts and conference centre. The Tasman District Council also provides support for cultural activities including the Suter.
When doing its comparative analysis of the 39 councils, the Ministry noticed that approaches to identity building, branding and marketing seemed, at first, to vary between councils. However, a more considered analysis revealed that each Council, in fact, builds its branding strategies on local points of difference – features such as tourism, environment, lifestyle factors, rural community values, sense of place, ethnicity, or unique heritage, and these forge a local identity.
These local and regional identities are vital components of the broader sense of national identity that we in New Zealand demonstrate to ourselves, and to the world.
Many of you here will be aware that national identity is close to the government's heart – enhancing national identity is one of the three key goals chosen by government for the next ten years. Our local communities' sense of identity and our understandings of our culture also support government's two other key goals for this decade: economic development and transformation; and families – young and old.
If we now go through the various components that make up cultural well-being....
How we express and celebrate our culture, values, beliefs, and diversity, is often at the heart of the branding of our local and national identities .
We are a nation that expresses and celebrates our diversity. We celebrate, for example, the Chinese New Year through the Lantern Festival in Auckland and Dunedin; the Indian Diwali festival; Matariki - the Maori new year; the annual winter festival in Queenstown; and Auckland's Pasifika and Polyfest. In all cases the relevant local authorities have a role in enabling these festivals to occur. Central government contributes too, through its Crown agencies such as Creative New Zealand and Te Papa, and through support for other organisations like Te Matatini.
Every two years, Te Matatini runs its national kapa haka championships. It draws thousands of performers, supporters and visitors. In 2005, this event was held in Palmerston North, and will be held there again in February 2007. Palmerston North District Council has previously provided the venue and has strongly supported the event in other ways. And plans are afoot to extend the partnership between the council, Te Matatini and the community to make this a flagship event for the Manawatu - to make the event bigger and better, and to involve more ancillary events such as community concerts and trade fairs for local Maori-owned or themed businesses.
Clearly, this partnership is a winner. And councils also partner with the voluntary sector, business, and central government in many other areas, such as refugee and migrant resettlement. Social diversity is part of the fabric of New Zealand – we have in New Zealand, for example, the highest rate in the OECD of people born overseas.
Performing and visual arts are very visible expressions of ourselves and our identities.
Many of us gain great satisfaction and intrinsic benefit from watching dance, music and theatre performances, and from viewing art. Importantly, too, these are experiences that help to develop and reflect our cultural identity; and that help us to see who we are and what we want to be as a nation.
A staggering nine out of ten New Zealanders are involved in the arts either as participants and/or as audience members, according to a report released in April this year by Creative New Zealand.
Some of our national performing and visual arts organisations are building an increasing role for themselves in the regions. Creative New Zealand, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, for example, are bringing world class cultural experiences to the regions and localities.
As one of New Zealand's oldest art museums and galleries, the Suter Gallery has a long history as a local art space that showcases creative talent. As well as hosting national touring exhibitions to inspire locals, your exhibitions have used art to demonstrate links into other spheres. For example:
- Suter's newest publication "The Outside Table" describes the food and flavours of the Nelson region.
- Environmental and scientific features of the Nelson Bays area were highlighted in your 2004 exhibition " Travelling River". This exhibition has been described as ground-breaking in bringing together scientific reports and maps, art, photography and community-based stories.
In these and other instances, Suter Gallery themes and exhibitions have integrated art into the wider cultural well-being fabric of Nelson. Suter sits, of course, within the special-ness of Nelson. Nelson has the only chamber music summer school in New Zealand, it takes a very proactive approach to arts marketing, and held the first Cultural Tourism Conference in New Zealand =, to strategically tackle cultural tourism.
As well as visual and performing arts, film and broadcasting, too, are hugely influential in capturing and reflecting who we are and what we do. They also provide a significant contribution to the economic development of the country and the regions.
It has been estimated by NZIER ( New Zealand's Institute for Economic Research) for example, that the transitional economic effects of the three Lord of the Rings films, amounted to nearly $353 million. In addition, longer-term economic, branding, industry development, employment and other opportunities opened up. It has been estimated that the Wellington premier of LOTR alone contributed $9.5 million to Wellington's economy.
Film NZ, with central government support, provides advice to national and international film productions about possible locations for filming and about local approvals processes. This agency now works with 28 local authorities which have become signatories to the Film Friendly Protocol – enabling quick and easy access to permits and to locations for shoots. The councils that have signed up with Film NZ recognise the value to their communities and to the nation of putting their locations on the world stage – as part of identity building, and for tourism and economic development benefits.
The value to Taranaki from the filming there of The Last Samuri has been well documented. Much of the world now knows of Invercargill through The World's Fastest Indian; the Wanganui River through the River Queen; and the East Coast through the Whale Rider. Tourists still go to Karekare on Auckland's West Coast because The Piano was filmed there.
NZ On Air recently announced its intention to fund My God : a series of ten half hour programmes to screen on TV One, which will focus on one well-known New Zealander each week, following them through their day-to-day life and capturing the essence of their spiritual being. I understand that there are some 90 religious groups in New Zealand – so NZ On Air thinks that it won't be short of possibilities! This series is particularly timely when, internationally, religious differences and conflict are routinely in the headlines. It is opportune to delve into the range of spiritual choices and what they mean in people's lives.
While diversity is not new in New Zealand, there has been significant demographic change over the last fifteen years, with an associated increase in ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. Government wholeheartedly supports the efforts of NZ On Air to reflect the diversity within which we live and work. Such endeavours – including community and access broadcasters such as Nelson's "Fresh FM" - aim to improve understanding and cultural connectedness, and strengthen relationships within our communities.
In June this year, the government announced decisions that pave the way for the launch of free-to-air digital television in New Zealand. Digital TV will be delivered by a group of New Zealand's free-to-air broadcasters (including TVNZ), using both satellite and terrestrial transmission to ensure there is an option for all New Zealanders .
Our identity and how we express it is also associated with a sense of place. How we approach and understand our heritage shapes our image of ourselves and the image we convey to future generations.
Across New Zealand, we place high value on the special places where our history happened. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust contributes to national and regional pride and identity through its commitment to caring for those places of history. The protection and conservation of heritage also contributes to economic development through urban regeneration and heritage tourism.
The government is investigating the potential benefits of establishing a small network of sites of national symbolic significance – with the aim of enhancing visitor experience and improve understanding of New Zealand's historic heritage. New Zealand is hosting the 31 st session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in June 2007 in Christchurch. That conference will inevitably focus domestic and international attention on New Zealand's historic heritage sector, and may provide new opportunities to promote our historic heritage sites.
Local communities and councils are also active in recognising our diverse heritage in our community places. The Dunedin City Council, for example, has partnered with the Shanghai Museum in its sister city to develop an authentic Chinese Garden. Government recently announced a grant of up to $3.75 million for this project through the 2006 Significant Community-Based Projects Fund. The Garden will provide recognition of the contribution of Chinese people to the formation and history of Otago, and will encourage interest in, and an understanding of, Chinese culture. It will also provide a significant tourist icon for the country and the region.
Regional and local museums are another important heritage-based feature of communities – involving passionate volunteers and, often, council support. Such museums are touchstones for localised history – helping people find their present through the past. Te Papa – through its National Services Te Paerangi Unit – provides support and guidance to the local museums. Recently, Te Papa took to the regions its mobile exhibition Treaty 2 U, and received an overwhelming number of visitors. This is testament to Te Papa's innovation and experimental approach.
Design and architecture, too, can reflect and shape our cultural identity, while influencing social interactions and economic development .
Puke Ariki – a New Plymouth library, regional museum, and visitor information service – is one of the many examples around New Zealand of innovative, modern architecture. Design that is uniquely New Zealand and that is also functional.
At the extremities of our two main islands we now have new performing arts venues - Invercargill's renovated Civic Theatre and Kerikeri's Centre complex with its 400-seat auditorium. Both were built with a combination of private labour (often volunteer or with donated products) and with public funding and/or council support.
The role of regional infrastructure in attracting international events, exhibitions, tournaments, and performances cannot be overstated. The development of bigger and better venues has coincided with:
- an increased focus by our national cultural organisations on regional touring; and
- international events occurring on our regional stage.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet, for example, took its "Tutus on Tour" last year, capturing regional hearts in over fifty centres. The NZ Symphony Orchestra also takes its regional commitments seriously and endeavours to visit as many centres as possible. It travelled to Balclutha this year, for example, to perform, for the first time in over 40 years.
Sport and other active recreation is an integral part of our culture, our local and national identity, and our cultural well-being.
Not that I am an expert on rugby – far from it – but I have been led to believe that the combining of the Nelson Bays and Marlborough rugby unions has led to the creation of the Tasman Makos – this development may lead, over time, to investment in bigger venues and bigger games – with potential tourism benefits for Nelson.
Looking at sport, we can see how local, national, and international threads can be drawn together.
- Local rugby is played on fields protected by councils, and with coaches that are volunteers from local communities.
- Domestic tournaments are organised by local authorities, such as Porirua's Rugby Tens tournament and the Rugby 7's held in Wellington, which (by the by) has been estimated to contribute $10 million annually to the city's economy.
- International events are being hosted in the regions - council commitment to the 2005 British and Irish Lions Tour was evident in Wellington, for example, where the Council went the extra mile to make the Lions' visit a social and economic party, and which contributed an additional $23 million to Wellington's economy.
- And, of course, the Rugby World Cup is being hosted in New Zealand in 2011.
From local roots - from councils and communities that support, promote and lead the development and expression of local identity - we grow aspects of our national identity that help bind our communities and contribute to our economic strength.
In an increasingly globalised world, however, our goals around economic transformation and national identity require New Zealand to take an innovative and forward-looking approach to how we develop and present our culture.
In recognition of this, government has set up a programme of work around a new Digital Strategy. The strategy is an initiative for all New Zealanders to have the opportunity to acquire the information, connections, skills, and knowledge they need to participate fully in an information-powered society. The Digital Strategy Community Partnership Fund, for example, supports projects working to build the capacity of communities to make the most of information and communications technology – and local authorities are, in many cases, key partners in such locally-driven projects.
Another example of an innovative national project with a local flavour is the Ministry for Culture and Heritage's development of Te Ara, the online Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Special entries are being created for all New Zealand regions.
On 11 September this year, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is launching a website called NZLive.com. This website will be a comprehensive, but very user friendly, website and an entry point to online information about New Zealand culture in all its breadth, depth and diversity – including the arts, museums, galleries and archives, historic places and heritage sites, food, wine, recreational activities and, of course, sport.
I urge you to use NZLive.com as a practical tool to promote the activities, events and facilities that in many cases will be part of your area's distinctive points of difference. I believe that a comprehensive Funding Information Service database will be accessible through NZLive.com. In the meantime, the Ministry has compiled a guide to funds, programmes and awards related to cultural well-being and this is accessible on www.mch.govt.nz/cwb/.
In Conclusion...
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage, together with Statistics New Zealand, recently published the 2006 Cultural Statistics findings. These show that spending on cultural items was the fourth largest category of spending after items like mortgages, rent and vehicle expenses. Clearly, culture is important to our citizens.
And community leadership – with local and central government working together - is important to culture. It impacts on local and national identity; international perceptions of New Zealand; New Zealand's economic transformation; and a cohesive society.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is convinced that through the leadership shown in local communities, we as New Zealanders are ultimately able to take pride in who and what we are, through our arts, culture, heritage, and sports, our appreciation of our natural environment, our understanding of our history, and our stance on international issues. The imbedding of cultural well-being in the Local Government Act 2002 formalises local and regional involvement in all aspects of our culture.
I would like to close by thanking the Suter for inviting me to be here today.
Angela Yeoman, Policy Manager for Cultural Well-being project.
