Mapping vernacular creativity: The extent and diversity of rural festivals in Australia

Abstract

The idea that creativity is vital to regional economies has been increasingly debated in Australia, as elsewhere. Although creativity has been taken more seriously by governments, it has often been 'folded into' normative ideas of market-led place competition, with biases towards commodifiable forms of creativity (that produce copyright/content) and urban, middle-class neighbourhoods and aesthetics (see Gibson, 2009 for extended critique). ... In the first part of this chapter we overview the manner in which normative discourses of creativity have infused policy talk. In the second part, the chapter draws on one project which has sought to map the extent and diversity of creativity in rural areas, specifically, community festivals held in rural parts of three Australian states (Tasmania, New South Wales (NSW), Victoria). We discuss in detail one festival: the Elvis Revival festival in the country town of Parkes.