Community Cultural Development- CCD & Community Art

5 principles of Community Cultural Development


• Self-definition
A community identifies a shared sense of identity through identifying shared symbols, needs and goals

• Self-representation
A community accesses and uses the tools to express or represent that identity to itself and others

• Self-determination
A community controls its own development and achieves shared goals and aspirations

• Cultural democracy
The right of people to participate in cultural production and create their own cultural practices

• Cultural diversity
The right of people of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds express and enjoy their own cultural practices


Adapted from R. Mann, A Bridge between Two Territories (1994) Below infomation from the QCAN website - which is now defunct.


WHAT IS CCD?
There is no single 'definition' of community cultural development. Rather, there are a range of understandings emphasising different aspects of the work. We hope that the various descriptions provided below will inform your understanding.

Community cultural development (ccd) may be described as a process of community capacity building which uses a diverse range of arts and cultural tools to spark conversations, facilitate dialogue and build relationships, resulting in a wide variety of artistic and developmental outcomes. The process of working together is valued equally as any final product that may be created.

Using community cultural development processes communities engage more deeply or in new ways with their stories, experience of place and identity.

The principles which inform the practice of community cultural development are those of social justice. Community cultural development is an inclusive practice grounded in respect for cultural protocols and a willingness to engage with the wisdoms of other cultures.

Community cultural development workers need to not only be well versed in their artform but also to have a range of skills, knowledges and attributes which they can draw on to work effectively in, and with communities.

'Community cultural development is an ongoing practice, engaging with principles of social justice. It opens spaces for communities to create new knowledges about themselves and evolves opportunities to creatively shape the future.'
Dee Martin
Syzygy Kit - Brisbane City Council and Qld Community Arts Network


'Active participation in cultural life is an essential goal of community cultural development. All cultures are essentially equal, and society should not promote anyone as superior to the others. Diversity is a social asset, part of the cultural commonwealth, requiring protection and nourishment. Culture is an effective crucible for social transformation, one that can be less polarising and create deeper connections than other social-change arenas.

Cultural expression is a means of emancipation, not the primary end in itself; the process is as important as the product. Culture is a dynamic, protean whole, and there is no value in creating artificial boundaries within it. Artists have roles as agents of transformation that are more socially valuable than mainstream art-world roles - and certainly equal in legitimacy.'
A Creative Community - The Art of Cultural Development Adams D and Goldbard,
Rockefeller Foundation.

'Community cultural development (ccd) describes a process rather than an artform....ccd encompasses a range of ideas and practices which involve communities with the arts. As well as producing excellent art, ccd activities lead to other outcomes: new community relationships are born;
existing relationships and identities are strengthened; community discussion stimulated; ideas exchanged; partnerships created; and social isolation diminished'.
Hands On! A guide to the grants programs of the Community Cultural Development Fund. Australia Council 2000


'Aimed at strengthening the capacities of communities to develop and express their own cultures. Community cultural development has come to be understood as a collective process, often involving creativity interpreted in the broadest sense. This contributes to changes in people's lives and long term developmental benefits for a community. Meanwhile the relationship between artist and community has become a partnership rather than the 'expert' sharing with the'amateur' In practice, ccd involves a wide range of art forms, from performance to visual arts, from film and video to writing, oral history and storytelling. Its creative outcomes may be everything from public art to festivals, theatre and dance performances, exhibitions, publications and seminars. All of these activities, and there are many others that could be mentioned, have in common the collaborative and empowering processes by which participants engage with creative activity.
Art and Wellbeing Deborah Mills and Paul Brown

• Indigenous cultural processes and practices Community cultural development is informed by understanding that Indigenous ways of experiencing community through land and culture represents a profound insight about living. The colonisation of this country by non Indigenous people disrupted traditional relationships with land and culture/s. In reclaiming and re-building these relationships, Indigenous people continue to practice culture everyday, whether in traditional or contemporary environments. Indigenous cultural practices and concerns are inseparable from issues about the ownership of land, history, family and country. Community cultural development practice is grounded in respect for cultural practices, knowledge of and adherence to cultural protocols and a willingness to engage with the wisdoms of other cultures.

• Regional cultural development The needs and concerns of people living in regional, rural and remote Queensland, and the ways in which ccd practice might manifest and have meaning for them are potentially different to those of metropolitan dwellers. While regional communities offer a strong sense of community and place, living in regional Queensland can also mean less access to support, resources and diverse opportunities.
Community cultural development seeks to ensure that the cultural development in any community is self determined, and that in determining their culture(s), communities are informed, skilled and resourced.

• Education and Training There are big differences between communities, and the level of their 'robustness' influences how we work with them. Artsworkers will consider a community's status, needs, issues and strengths when developing strategies and approaches to ccd work, knowing that circumstances often require changes to these in the course of the work.

CCD artsworkers have deep bags of skills, and these need to be refined and strengthened through professional development. Professional development can be gained by training, reading, participating in industry discussions and conferences, collaborating, teaching, being mentored and mentoring.

CCD artsworkers have artform skills plus ccd skills. They require complex and demanding knowledges and skills. Ccd workers facilitate our engagement with the social and cultural construction of how we understand ourselves and our world. They need to be able to translate this into working across and between different cultures. They have to understand how community is built, how it is maintained and what role conflict and its management play within it. Communication, facilitation and change management are part of a Ccd workers skill set. Diplomacy, genuine respect and rigourous engagement with different issues and needs are some of the Ccd worker's attributes. The ability to design and manage inclusive, developmental processes in community, and to document and evaluate them is all in a days work.

Throughout our professional lives, we build on our experience by participating in training and other skills and knowledge building, in order to develop the standard of our practice and to ensure that we contribute to the robustness of the communities we work with.

• Networking is a practice undertaken by people in all walks of life, from politicians to ccd workers. The idea of networking resonates with ccd workers because it reflects both a ccd strategy and outcome - connection.

It is impossible to have a collective experience in isolation. Being connected to other human beings, learning about others (including their difference to us and their similarity to us), creating ways of expressing our ways of being in the world together, these are important to our humanity. We feel safe when we feel we belong.

Networking is the active pursuit of connections, and helps build relationships as well as knowledges. Networking involves participating in professional development and social activities which bring you into contact with people from whom you can learn, who may be able to support you is some way, who might introduce you to other people, ideas or organizations. In turn, a good networker opens doors for others through their own areas or sector.

Networking can give you an entry point into people and resources that you may not otherwise have. this can benefit the communities you work with.
• Resources As the workforce becomes more casual and funding more scarce, ccd workers will require more support to undertake their practice. Support might include access to resources.

One of the benefits of networking is that it can provide opportunities to access knowledge, skills, contacts and resources. Broadly, resources include things like a venue to work in, materials to work with or the knowledge and experience of interested members of community. In terms of this site, Resources include information about other practitioners, employment opportunities, information about how to do things, or about relevant knowledge like legislative requirements, or insurance options, protocols or funding alternatives. Access to resources can provide a practitioner with tools which will help them feel more confident about their work.