scholarly journals In Praise of Small Cities: Cultural Life in Kamloops, BC

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lon Dubinsky

Abstract: This article demonstrates how cultural participation contributes to collective understanding in a small city, using Kamloops, British Columbia, as a case study. It examines how pools of social and cultural capital give purpose and shape to the arts and heritage community and considers two related variables: the geographical and social proximity of people, organizations, and neighbourhoods, and the recognition that various kinds of collaboration may determine or constitute collective activity. The article addresses these factors by initially identifying several arts and heritage activities and by focusing on choral societies to further demonstrate how individual interests and collective understanding converge in specific forms of cultural expression. The article concludes by recommending several directions for comparative urban research based on the contours of cultural life in a small city. This article features online (http://www.cjc-online.ca) photographs of cultural works. Résumé : Cette étude souligne de quelle façon la participation culturelle contribue à la compréhension collective dans la petite ville de Kamloops en Colombie Britannique, utilisée içi comme sujet de recherche. On y voit comment certains réservoirs de capital social et culturel donnent un sens et un contexte à la communauté des arts et du patrimoine et on y présente deux variantes connexes : la proximité géographique et sociale des personnes, des organisations et des quartiers, et le fait que différents types de collaboration peuvent définir ou constituer une activité collective. Cet article considère ces prémisses, d’abord en identifiant plusieurs activités dans le secteur des arts et du patrimoine et ensuite en portant son attention plus particulièrement aux sociétés de chorales afin de démontrer de quelle façon les intérêts personnels et la compréhension collective se rejoignent dans certaines formes d’expression culturelle. La conclusion propose plusieurs voies de recherche urbaine comparative, basées sur la configuration de la vie culturelle d’une petite ville. Cet article inclut des photos d’œuvres d’art disponibles sur le site web de la revue : http://www.cjc-online.ca.

2020 ◽  
pp. 002216782098214
Author(s):  
Tami Gavron

This article describes the significance of an art-based psychosocial intervention with a group of 9 head kindergarten teachers in Japan after the 2011 tsunami, as co-constructed by Japanese therapists and an Israeli arts therapist. Six core themes emerged from the analysis of a group case study: (1) mutual playfulness and joy, (2) rejuvenation and regaining control, (3) containment of a multiplicity of feelings, (4) encouragement of verbal sharing, (5) mutual closeness and support, and (6) the need to support cultural expression. These findings suggest that art making can enable coping with the aftermath of natural disasters. The co-construction underscores the value of integrating the local Japanese culture when implementing Western arts therapy approaches. It is suggested that art-based psychosocial interventions can elicit and nurture coping and resilience in a specific cultural context and that the arts and creativity can serve as a powerful humanistic form of posttraumatic care.


Author(s):  
Leila Mahmoudi Farahani ◽  
Marzieh Setayesh ◽  
Leila Shokrollahi

A landscape or site, which has been inhabited for long, consists of layers of history. This history is sometimes reserved in forms of small physical remnants, monuments, memorials, names or collective memories of destruction and reconstruction. In this sense, a site/landscape can be presumed as what Derrida refers to as a “palimpsest”. A palimpsest whose character is identified in a duality between the existing layers of meaning accumulated through time, and the act of erasing them to make room for the new to appear. In this study, the spatial collective memory of the Chahar Bagh site which is located in the historical centre of Shiraz will be investigated as a contextualized palimpsest, with various projects adjacent one another; each conceptualized and constructed within various historical settings; while the site as a heritage is still an active part of the city’s cultural life. Through analysing the different layers of meaning corresponding to these adjacent projects, a number of principals for reading the complexities of similar historical sites can be driven.


Author(s):  
R. A. Earnshaw

AbstractWhere do new ideas come from and how are they generated? Which of these ideas will be potentially useful immediately, and which will be more ‘blue sky’? For the latter, their significance may not be known for a number of years, perhaps even generations. The progress of computing and digital media is a relevant and useful case study in this respect. Which visions of the future in the early days of computing have stood the test of time, and which have vanished without trace? Can this be used as guide for current and future areas of research and development? If one Internet year is equivalent to seven calendar years, are virtual worlds being utilized as an effective accelerator for these new ideas and their implementation and evaluation? The nature of digital media and its constituent parts such as electronic devices, sensors, images, audio, games, web pages, social media, e-books, and Internet of Things, provides a diverse environment which can be viewed as a testbed for current and future ideas. Individual disciplines utilise virtual worlds in different ways. As collaboration is often involved in such research environments, does the technology make these collaborations effective? Have the limits of disciplinary approaches been reached? The importance of interdisciplinary collaborations for the future is proposed and evaluated. The current enablers for progressing interdisciplinary collaborations are presented. The possibility for a new Renaissance between technology and the arts is discussed.


Urban Studies ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1041-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy C. Pratt

This paper seeks to examine critically the role of culture in the continued development, or regeneration, of `post-industrial' cities. First, it is critical of instrumental conceptions of culture with regard to urban regeneration. Secondly, it is critical of the adequacy of the conceptual framework of the `post-industrial city' (and the `service sector') as a basis for the understanding and explanation of the rise of cultural industries in cities. The paper is based upon a case study of the transformation of a classic, and in policy debates a seminal, `cultural quarter': Hoxton Square, North London. Hoxton, and many areas like it, are commonly presented as derelict parts of cities which many claim have, through a magical injection of culture, been transformed into dynamic destinations. The paper suggests a more complex and multifaceted causality based upon a robust concept of the cultural industries as industry rather than as consumption.


2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Tett ◽  
Kirstin Anderson ◽  
Fergus Mcneill ◽  
Katie Overy ◽  
Richard Sparks
Keyword(s):  

1989 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLARE J. A. MITCHELL ◽  
GEOFFREY WALL
Keyword(s):  

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Julia Minors
Keyword(s):  

Using “Soundpainting” as a case study, this paper examines how musicians and dancers can create and contribute to a dialogue between, across and within the arts. Interviews with the “Soundpainter” Walter Thompson provide a practical and applied basis for analysis, and a major goal of the article is to illustrate how music-dance dialogues are formed in this creative sign language.


Author(s):  
Khalilah Zakariya ◽  
Zumahiran Kamarudin ◽  
Nor Zalina Harun

The development of a public market in the city planning is pivotal in supporting the growth of the local economy. The market is also a place where the culture of the locals evolves daily. However, the unique qualities of the market are vulnerable to the redevelopment process. This study examines the cultural aspects of Pasar Payang in Terengganu, Malaysia, as one of the well-known markets among the locals and the tourists, which will soon be redeveloped. The aim of this paper is to identify the tangible and intangible qualities of the market, so that it can sustain its cultural qualities in the future. The methods adopted for this study comprise of conducting a survey among 497 visitors, and semi-structured interviews among 19 market vendors. The findings reveal that the cultural vitality of the market can be sustained by strengthening its local identity through its products and culture, providing spaces that can facilitate tourist activities and cultural participation, and enhancing the development of the local businesses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Gray ◽  
Chris Bevan ◽  
Kirsten Cater ◽  
Jo Gildersleve ◽  
Caroline Garland ◽  
...  

Collaborations between human–computer interaction (HCI) researchers and arts practitioners frequently centre on the development of creative content using novel – often emergent – technologies. Concurrently, many of the techniques that HCI researchers use in evaluative participant-based research have their roots in the arts – such as sketching, writing, artefact prototyping and role play. In this reflective paper, we describe a recent collaboration between a group of HCI researchers and dramatists from the immersive theatre organization Kilter, who worked together to design a series of audience-based interventions to explore the ethics of virtual reality (VR) technology. Through a process of knowledge exchange, the collaboration provided the researchers with new techniques to explore, ideate and communicate their work, and provided the dramatists with a solid academic grounding in order to produce an accurate yet provocative piece of theatrically based design fiction. We describe the formation of this partnership between academia and creative industry, document our journey together, and share the lasting impact it has had upon both parties.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document