Interesting Times

Hey there fellow bloggers. I just returned from a National conference that has inspired me and reinvigorated my enthusiasm. Isn't it wonderful when you meet like minded people? The coming together of similarity between minds who are constantly thinking of ways to 'change the world'. Inspirational it is! How I wish everybody could think like that. Changing the world can be difficult not to mention totally draining on the emotional and cognitive home front and at times it can be soul destroying. The good thing about this conference is that everybody there is seeking the same outcome only in different ways. Everybody at the conference is searching for enlightenment in the continuity of art and culture for future generations, telling history and making pathways for a sustainable future. And it had a global focus.

It felt good to know that I am not alone. It felt good to get a bigger picture of what is happening in my industry within and outside of Australia. Art and culture is not just about Indigenous people it is about all societies in which we live. It is the history of our lives and of those who came before us. Art and culture belongs to all people and it is about where we came from, who we are and where we are heading.

I loved listening to all of the different cultural stories being preserved around the globe and interesting stories they were, but the most exciting thing is the acknowledgement that we need to open the doors for contemporary art and culture so that we have a future pathway for the preservation of our history; a history in the making. I loved that.

My friend who is an Archaeologist once said to me that we need to bury something sustainable in the ground in our back yards so that future archaeologists will have objects to dig up because our present society is a throw away disposable society. I think that this comment also relates to culture and the arts as well because we are now in a position where we need to consider our future and what that future entails for our young people. We need to consider the viability of sustainable ways to preserve our history and I think we need to adjust our thinking because there are so many new resources available to us that are not disposable and that are sustainable, but they can sometimes feel foreign to us because we are used to doing things in the same way. Change is always difficult and a lot of people resist change, it takes us out of our comfort zone. Change does not mean wrong! It just means different.

It is important for young people to express themselves in their own way using the resources that are available to them. At the conference I just attended a young Aboriginal man said:

'...them old people paint and that is their way but we want to do things our way, painting is old stuff....'

He was referring to film and photography which are his chosen media in expressing his art and culture. Interesting isn't it? And this made me realise that the youth of today have a whole range of technology available to them for expressions of the self. Who are we to say that it is not long lasting and why should we tell them it is not the right way to do things. When I think about it, their world is so different to mine? I remember when we got our first black and white television. My children remember when we got our first mobile phone which they laughingly call 'the brick'. Technology is only going to get bigger, faster and better, and whether we like it or not it is already connecting people and dragging them out of remoteness and isolation to join in with modern humanity. The internet is connecting professionals from around the globe who are participating in interactive discussions regarding their chosen fields and who are learning from each other. And here we are blogging our hearts and souls away in an attempt to encourage people to 'change the world' purely by challenging their thinking processes.

Me I love the challenge of 'changing the world', it is interesting, fun and hard work but it is also inspirational when you come across like minded people who remind you that you are not alone and that the world is worth saving. It is inspirational because it reminds me that the youth of today have the same needs as the youth of yesteryear. The only difference is the media in which they choose to tell their stories, preserving art and culture for generations to come. And you know what, it's okay? I look forward to watching and sometimes guiding, this new generation of young people who will be making use of the resources available to them to 'change the world'.

Oh hail to conferencing, I always learn something new.

On that note I'm signing off to go paint, like them old people do.....lol

Life is good!