Report/Rapport : Cultural Development in Rural Communities, May 2009

Source: Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities, Simon Fraser University and the Creative City Network of Canada
(May 21, 2009) Vancouver – The Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities at Simon Fraser University and the Creative City Network of Canada are pleased to announce the release of a new project on cultural development in rural communities.

The report, Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity, is a comprehensive review of research on cultural and creative business development in rural communities and includes information from Canada, Australia, the United States, and Europe. This new research helps set the stage for rural communities to determine the best approaches to reach out and take advantage of their creative capacity.

The report was developed within the context of a partnership between the Creative City Network of Canada and the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, and with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The study was conducted by Dr. Nancy Duxbury and Heather Campbell at Simon Fraser University's Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities, Vancouver, with insightful contributions from three international collaborators:

– Kim Dunphy, Program Manager, Cultural Development Network, Melbourne, Australia

– Dr. Patrick Overton, Director, Front Porch Institute, Oregon, United States

– Dr. Lidia Varbanova, Laboratory for European Cultural Cooperation, Amsterdam; and the Centre for Intercultural and Social Development, Montréal (reviewing Europe)

The final project consists of four papers with accompanying project and community case studies/examples, and an extensive annotated bibliography. A summary overview highlights the common themes emerging around cultural development in rural areas across the four project papers, and reoccurring critical ingredients to foster vibrant arts activity in rural and small communities.

The Centre for Policy Studies on Culture and Communities, in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, is co-directed by Drs. Alison Beale and Catherine Murray.
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All papers are available in electronic form on the Creative City Network of Canada website:

http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=239&Itemid=218