The Creative Bureaucrat: Investing in strategic creativity in Ireland

Brought to you by the Creative Ireland Programme, the Irish Architecture Foundation’s Reimagine programme, and Connect the Dots

Date & Time: Wednesday 27 October, 11am-12pm.

Registration: click here.

This one hour online webinar is for those working within a local authority wondering how it’s possible to bring creativity into strategic planning in a meaningful way.

It looks at projects where local communities, in partnership with local authorities, co-create solutions to problems or opportunities they’ve identified in their locality.

Our keynote speaker will be Charles Landry. Charles believes that shifting thinking from a ‘no because’ culture to a ‘yes, if’ culture within a bureaucracy can be empowering, and that it is possible to achieve.

He will be joined by Kells Creative Placemaking, RIOT (curated conversations) in Sligo County Council, and Ardú street arts initiative (Cork City Council), offering models of creative bureaucracy in the Irish local authority context.

Speakers:

Charles Landry is an internationally acclaimed author and authority on the use of the imagination and creativity in urban change. In 1978 he founded Comedia, a highly respected globally oriented advisor that assesses deep trends, creative potential, culture and urban change.

Kells Creative Placemaking offers an example of how harnessing the energy, enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to regeneration by the community in its broadest sense has led to tangible outcomes. Presentation by Gerardette Bailey – Meath County Council.

RIOT (curated conversations) in Sligo County Council is an example of how probing the role of culture in the development and regeneration of small cities has made an impact on the local authority. Presentation by Joeleen Lynch – Public Arts Officer, Sligo.

Ardú is a new street arts initiative delivered in partnership with Cork City Council Arts Office in 2020 and supported by the Creative Ireland Programme. Ardú was underpinned by a street arts development programme that aims to create an integrated approach to place-making, support the input of the arts sector and communities and foster cross-sectoral collaboration within the local authority. Presentation by Michele Carew – Arts Officer, Cork City.

The session will conclude with a Q&A, to assist with making the speakers’ insights about collaboration and culture-led regeneration processes easy to apply to your own particular contexts. The output from this event will be published on the Reimagine website.