Academic resources
The academic and research analysis of the operation of Creative Communities as a vehicle for community and artistic change, awareness, sustainability and reflection is an important facet to the core values of Creative Communities.
Papers and journal articles
Academic papers and journal articles emerging from Creative Communities and those that help inform and educate participants and facilitators are available below. Please respect copyright of these works.
Dr Janet McDonald (Director of Creative Communities)
Que-rious impositions: reflections on the pedagogy at the core of a regional youth theatre in Queensland, Australia - this paper is about QUE Theatre Inc, a Toowoomba based, youth theatre company.
Balancing the Town and Gown: The Risky Business of Creating a Youth Theatre in Regional Queensland - this refereed journal article about QUE Theatre Inc. appears in the International Journal of Pedagogy and Learning.
Living Data in the Lower Balonne: Cultural Enablement or Cultural Imposition? - Janet's most recent refereed article is directly linked to the QMDC/USQ Creative Communities initiative Cultural Catchments. It questions the role of Creative Communities as an arts organisation and the effectiveness of it to create sustainable arts practice.
Associate Professor Robyn Stewart (Researcher and contributor to USQ Creative Communities)
Creating new stories for praxis: navigations, narration, neonarratives - explores practice as research.
Matthew Armstrong
Report 2007 by Matt Armstrong - Matthew Armstrong was a team member of the 2006 Cultural Catchments project and Facilitator of the 2007 Mailbox Plays project. This report analyses the effects of the Cultural Catchments project, particularly the final performative outcome on his home town, St George.
Industry organisations
Somtimes industry organisations, affiliates and companies inspire the work that Creative Communities facilitates. The links below are provided to add scope to the work that Creative Communities does and to recognise the interconnectedness that the arts community relies on.
Place Vision Voice
Place Vision Voice has very similar goals to USQ Creative Communities, in that it works with regional and indigenous communities in Arizona, United States of America. Dr Janet McDonald, who studied at Arizona State University, invited Dr Stephanie Etheridge-Woodson in June 2006 to share some of her discoveries about engaging communities using media and the arts.
Department of Theatre Arts, California State University, San Bernardino
Associate Professor Johanna Smith, from California State University, San Bernardino, visited USQ in June 2005 and provided Theatre students with a unique introduction to political puppetry, and also with a variety of new theatrical conventions that have been used in our workshops in the Balonne and many other Creative Communities projects. The Cantestoria is a most usable theatre-making convention that Creative Communities has taken on and used throughout 2006 and 2007.