Issue One:
CuriousWorks
CuriousWorks is made up of an established network of professionals and practitioners of socially-engaged arts practice, community arts, and cultural development that has been serving communities in and around Western Sydney for 20 years. Based in Fairfield, they work with artists and communities in socially responsive and socially-engaged ways across Western Sydney to actively shape a vibrant, fair, and inclusive future culture. CuriousWorks nurtures art makers and future cultural leaders by commissioning new local work, offering creative development opportunities, and creating opportunities for employment, mentorship, and skill development. This dedicated multi-arts organisation supports skill-building and professional development for young trainee artists by pairing them with established artists to co-design and deliver professional products and community workshops at a lower cost.
“Co-design means that people come together to conceptually develop and create things that respond to certain matters of concern and create a (better) future reality. People come together despite, or because of, their different agendas, needs, knowledge and skills.” – Zamenopoulos & Alexiou, 2018
CuriousWorks employs a co-design approach, which involves developing a creative and collaborative relationship with Western Sydney artists, to produce arts and media programs that benefit and empower local communities in Western Sydney. Within this, CuriousWorks adopts a socially engaged practice that promotes community connection and active participation, and works with clients who align with their goal of supporting communities, councils, schools, and other community engagement initiatives. This is demonstrated through their collaborations with councils in local government areas such as Penrith, Blacktown, and Fairfield. Their drive to make authentic change in the community can be seen through their business choices to engage local artists who know their area, thus adding an extra layer of depth to their work. Their business approach is process-based and outcome-based; their dedication to going the extra mile in not only engaging community but creating alongside community is what helps them to create exceptional outcomes. For this reason, CuriousWorks enhances community development and wellbeing, ensuring that their actions leave a positive impact.
The paired mentor model is another approach adopted by CuriousWorks. By pairing experienced community mentors with aspiring trainees or early career creatives, this mentorship allows trainees to learn from the expertise and experience of their mentors through a range of creative opportunities and training. It ensures that guidance and support are provided for early career creatives in their projects, helping them progress and ultimately achieve quality outcomes and discover their areas of interest while being paid on the job. This paired mentoring approach provides a positive effect on the trainees’ creativity in the long run, and promotes autonomy and exploration (Wang & Shibayama, 2022). One specific way that CuriousWorks demonstrates this is through their Refugee Artist Development Program (RADP), which is designed for artists with refugee backgrounds, helping them to develop their skills and integrate into the local arts community. Through this mentorship model, CuriousWorks ensures that the next generation of artists and filmmakers receive the support, guidance, and skills they need to succeed in their careers.
CuriousWorks’ social enterprise projects form part of their larger vision that marries community, art, culture, and employment. One such project is their collaboration with Penrith Regional Gallery, Stories from Queen Street. This social and place-based documentary examines the complexities of a community in transition in Penrith. Diego Murillo, former Social Enterprise Manager, worked with emerging and more established artists and with Penrith Regional Gallery to help tell the stories of local shop-keepers in St Marys. By embedding themselves in the community and reframing their work to focus on larger community engagement projects that involve more people, CuriousWorks can work in deeper and more meaningful ways that extend engagement.
CuriousWorks employs a core staff and an extended network of contractors with deep connections to the localities they operate within and the communities they serve. Like Diego, a number of current staff members have come through the organisation as young participants and have worked their way to leading the very programs that introduced them to the company. In this way, CuriousWorks provides a valuable opportunity to give back to the community and to share the same opportunities with others so that they can also realise their potential as creatives.
Evidence in practice
A co-design approach explores the collaborative relationship between designers and decision-makers, and their participants and clients. This process leverages the lived experience of the participants to deliver products and outcomes that are fit for purpose. The benefit is felt from both parties, and the meaningful engagement of participants is as valuable as any outcomes achieved by the process (Davis et al., 2023).
In a paired mentor model, mentorship is a mechanism for professional training and skill development (Arnesson & Albinsson, 2017). A paired mentor model supports trainees by providing work opportunities and ongoing guidance, ensuring quality of outcome, building skills, and developing industry relationships.
References
Arnesson, K., & Albinsson, G. (2017). Mentorship – a pedagogical method for integration of theory and practice in higher education. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 3(3), 202-217. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2017.1379346.
Davis, A., Tuckey, M., Gwilt, I. and Wallace, N. (2023), Understanding Co-Design Practice as a Process of “Welldoing”. Int J Art Des Educ, 42: 278-293. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12459
Wang, J., & Shibayama, S. (2022). Mentorship and creativity: Effects of mentor creativity and mentoring style. Research Policy, 51(3). DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2021.104451.
Zamenopoulos, Theodore and Alexiou, Katerina (2018). Co-design As Collaborative Research. Connected Communities Foundation Series. Bristol: Bristol University/AHRC Connected Communities Programme. Available from https://oro.open.ac.uk/58301/1/Co-Design_CCFoundationSeries_PUBLISHED.pdf
