“Tell me honestly…” – what it takes to be artistically vibrant and relevant to your community

Artistic Vibrancy is a term that seeks to capture the different dimensions of artistic success and achievements that artists and arts organisations strive for. But what does it actually mean to be artistically vibrant? How can an organisation (small, medium or large) or an individual truly reflect on and receive feedback on the quality of the artistic work they are producing? And what is it that makes a particular work or artist stand out in an increasingly competitive arts market place?

SAMAG’s July seminar unpacks some of these questions with a panel of industry experts who will discuss the different components involved in making something an artistic success.  Several years ago, the Australia Council for the Arts tackled the issue of how to measure the artistic vibrancy of the companies it funds, by introducing it’s Artistic Vibrancy Framework. The five elements of this framework (quality and excellence of craft, audience engagement and stimulation, curation and development of artform, development of artists and community relevance) are critical in the in the development of work that is artistically exciting, refreshing and vibrant.

One factor which is becoming increasingly important is that of community relevance. Being relevant to communities means making art that matters to society. In this time of global change, when communities are changing rapidly, arts organisations need to stay relevant to survive and thrive. The Australia Council recently released the Community Relevance Guide, an online resource to support arts organisations to reflect and take action on their relevance to communities.