Just Add Water Evaluation 2012 – 2014
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Report to Country Arts SA, Australia Council, Arts SA and Alexandrina Council Just Add Water Evaluation 2012 – 2014 Greg Hatcher, GastroSkeletal, from Contemperate Ephemeral Sculpture Trail, Middleton 2014. Photo: Meg Winen Christine Putland – Research Consultant April 2015 About This Report In 2012 the Alexandrina Council hosted the third Regional Centre of Culture (RCC) program in South Australia, the previous two having been held in Port Augusta (2008) and Murray Bridge (2010). Managed by Country Arts SA on behalf of the South Australian government, the RCC model aimed to contribute to building a strong and resourceful community and improving wellbeing through arts and cultural development. In Alexandrina the program was named Just Add Water, reflecting the community’s unique and precious relationship with the rivers, lakes, sea and wetlands in the region. Country Arts SA commissioned an independent evaluation of the 2012 program documenting the many positive outcomes for the community. The 2012 Evaluation Report by Dr Christine Putland can be found on the website here. Based on the success of Just Add Water in 2012 it was nominated for a further two years funding by the Australia Council for the Arts, Cultural Places Initiative as one of two pilots, the other being Rockhampton in Queensland. A further evaluation of Just Add Water until the end of 2014 was undertaken to ascertain progress towards the goals of the Cultural Places Initiative. This Report supplements the 2012 findings and is based on the evaluation conducted during 2014 by Dr Christine Putland. Launch of Station to Station: Artists Seb Humphreys and KAB101; photo Richard Hodges CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION – PROGRAM BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................... 16 EVALUATION OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................. 17 FINDINGS PART 1: ........................................................................................................................................................... 21 FINDINGS PART 2: ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 ATTACHMENT A ............................................................................................................................................................ 102 ATTACHMENT B............................................................................................................................................................. 104 ATTACHMENT C ............................................................................................................................................................. 123 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following people are acknowledged for their contribution to this evaluation and report: Staff of Country Arts SA, in particular Jo Pike, Executive Producer, for general direction and program details Staff of Alexandrina Council, in particular Victoria MacKirdy, Anne Liddell, Leah Grace, Di Gordon, Tanya Mitchell and Kelly Robinson for administrative or technical support and vital information Members of the Arts and Cultural Advisory Committee to Council for background information and feedback Assistance with data collection and technical support (Pip Gare, Wendy Williams, Libby Wall, Carol Gaston, Tony Hargreaves, Ann-Marie Simpson, Jeannie McNicol, Janet Simpson) Community members from the Alexandrina region for making time to give feedback and suggestions Local artists, project coordinators and contributors, community groups and volunteers for insights, inspiration and most importantly for your dedication – without which there would have been no program to report on. Thank you Christine Putland EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Throughout 2012 the Alexandrina Council region was the site of Just Add Water, the third Regional Centre of Culture (RCC) program managed by Country Arts SA on behalf of the South Australian Government. The RCC model aimed to contribute to building stronger communities through arts and cultural development. It worked by injecting a diverse range of high quality arts and cultural experiences from outside the host region while simultaneously stimulating and supporting local initiatives and infrastructure development in partnership with the Council. During 2012 the Australia Council for the Arts, Cultural Places Initiative was launched and Just Add Water was nominated as one of two ‘Cultural Places’ pilots, alongside Rockhampton in Queensland (branded ‘Creative Capricorn’). The initiative was broadly based on the RCC approach with the following objectives: 1. To increase arts and cultural opportunities for community members, artists and visitors 2. To increase the extent to which the community values arts and culture 3. To strengthen local commitment to arts and cultural planning and development 4. To increase local capacity to plan, deliver and evaluate arts and cultural activities and events. ‘Cultural Places’ funding enabled Just Add Water to continue for a further two years. Building directly on the foundations established in the first year with Goolwa as its hub, in 2013 and 2014 Just Add Water sought to embed arts and cultural considerations more deeply at the local level and to encompass the whole Council region more extensively. Just Add Water 2012 was the subject of an evaluation documenting the many positive short term effects on the community, based on the aims of the RCC.1 The current Report effectively picks up from where the 2012 Report left off, appraising progress from a longer term perspective with a specific focus on achieving the ‘Cultural Places’ Objectives over the three years to December 2014. Evaluation Overview Given the broad and diverse program, a variety of methods and tools was employed to assess progress and gather feedback from different perspectives. Community Survey A survey of the general public including people who live and/or work in Alexandrina as well as visitors administered using the on-line tool Survey Monkey© in 2014. Questions explored participation and satisfaction in relation to arts and cultural activities; awareness of arts and cultural programs, in particular Just Add Water projects; views about the value of arts and cultural activities; and, ideas and expectations for the future. Participant Survey A survey of participants in Just Add Water projects conducted during 2013 and 2014 was administered using the on-line tool Survey Monkey©. ‘Participants’ were typically those involved in creative projects for a sustained period (eg over weekends or school holidays or in weekly workshops or rehearsals). Questions explored participants’ own involvement in the projects, the quality of their experiences, appraisal of the benefits of participating and suggestions for future projects. 1 Just Add Water 2012 Evaluation Report 4 Just Add Water 2012-2014 EVALUATION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Dr Christine Putland Local Contributor Survey A survey of local people who had played a role in the delivery of the Just Add Water program or projects conducted in November and December 2014. They included on-site coordinators or contact persons for schools and community groups, project artists and coordinators, gallery assistants, technical staff, arts and cultural volunteers, and cultural and local historical advisors. Questions explored how well the program objectives had been achieved, creative and professional development for themselves and others, and suggestions for future activity in the region. Council Staff Focus Groups Two focus groups with staff of Alexandrina Council who had direct or indirect involvement in program delivery were conducted in October 2014. Areas represented were finance, governance and strategy, assets and infrastructure, customer service, visitor information, community wellbeing, human resources, tourism, administration, communications, arts and culture, recreation, youth development, planning and development. Discussion explored the achievements of the program, strengths and weaknesses in its delivery, community benefits and improvements for the future. Additional Consultation Interviews with ten individuals were conducted between November 2014 and January 2015. These included people with specialised knowledge of program areas or in key decision-making positions, and several staff who had been unable to attend the relevant focus groups. Questions mirrored those discussed in the focus groups. Members of the Arts and Cultural Advisory Committee met in January 2015 to discuss the emerging findings and consider further developments. Attendance included general community and elected member representatives. Members of the public, community groups and school students were invited to comment on themes of ‘inspiration’, ‘impact’, and ‘change’ related to Just Add Water. These comments were inscribed by hand on long coloured ribbons as part of the ‘Rain Curtain’ installation in the Signal Point Gallery for the final public event in December 2014. EVALUATION FINDINGS IN RELATION TO CULTURAL PLACES OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVE 1 Arts and Cultural OPPORTUNITIES for COMMUNITY, ARTISTS and VISITORS SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Program documentation shows there has been a significant increase