Author: Sarah Woodland

Field Trips September-October: Sarah and our partner Robin Gregory from RDANT divided their efforts to undertake a final data collection push in Ali Curung, Arlparra and Ampilatwatja. Previous attempts to visit these communities had been difficult due to bad weather and other factors, so we were were very happy to finally spend some time at Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre during their Traditional Dance Festival; Artists of Ampilatwatja, on the back of their highly successful Desert Mob and Darwin Art Fair exhibitions; and Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation and Arlparra School, who helped us immensely by sharing their knowledge of the arts activity in Utopia homelands. We are extremely grateful to those communities for welcoming us so warmly.

Data Analysis: We are still working through the huge amount of data from the survey (now sitting at 119 respondents from across the key Barkly communities), our field trips from the past two years, and the incredibly rich body of corporate data from our partner organisations. From the data so far, we are seeing some fascinating stories emerging about the ecology of the arts sector in the Barkly, and our four case studies: Barkly Regional Arts, the Desert Harmony Festival, Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre, and the non-arts organisations delivering arts-based programs and activities in the Barkly. This is a lengthy and on-going process, and we are very grateful to our Advisory Committee and critical friends who have been helping us along the way with their insights.

17th Symposium on Indigenous Music and Dance:  Brydie presented an overview of the Creative Barkly project at the symposium, which was hosted by WAAPA (6-9 December). The presentation was well received, with delegates particularly interested in the scope and methodology of the project (see pic below).

     
Men and boys at the Harmony Traditional Dance Festival, Ali Curung; Brydie presenting at the Symposium 

Plans Going Forward – Following on from the September-October field trips, the team has met to discuss plans for the final phase of the project. Key decisions going forward include:

• Round table discussions in March 2019 with partners and advisers that will draw together findings from our data analysis, and form the basis for our final reporting.The report will consist of a suite of outputs for different audiences and contexts, including the full ARC report, a summary brochure, and a series of plain language reports that synthesize key findings and recommendations.

• Regional Roadshow into Tennant Creek and Barkly Communities to share findings and recommendations from the research, and workshop key priorities and possible action plans with artists and stakeholders. Dates and locations for the roadshow TBC.

• Undertaking field trips in August and September to coincide with Desert Harmony Festival in Tennant Creek, and the Traditional Dance Festival in Ali Curung. This will be an intensive phase of data collection for the case studies.

• Continuing data analysis, which will be an on-going, iterative process from now until the end of the year.

• Developing publications and outputs that will include a position paper, and a literature review for inclusion in academic journals. The team will also continue consultations with stakeholders and sector representatives to establish a plan for outputs that can be used by communities and organisations. We welcome your thoughts at any stage about what would be useful for the sector in this regard, please get in touch!