A National Arts and Health Policy Framework

by Deborah Mills. Published in Music Forum magazine, Vol 19 Issue 2 (February 2013)

Website: www.artshealthfoundation.org.au 

For the first time artists and artsworkers have had an opportunity to influence a national framework on arts and health which has been developed by representatives of government arts and health agencies for the Australian Government’s Standing Council on Health and released for comment.

For over thirty years, Australian arts practitioners and many clinicians and others working in the health sector have understood the power of creative participatory experiences in improving individual and community health and wellbeing.

Local Government and Music – a Venue Perspective

by Scott O’Hara. Published in Music Forum magazine, Vol 19 Issue 2 (February 2013) 

A colleague once suggested this metaphor to explain how governance in local government really works. Imagine that all the residents of your local government area are on a rocketship travelling towards an unknown destination nominally referred to as ‘the future’. The rocketship has a professional crew who have been hired because of their professional expertise in all of the things that need doing on the ship. They know what needs to be done and how to do it. They are not, however, in charge. What happens is that once every four years a ballot is held among the passengers to elect a group of 12 representatives who will be the decision makers, responsible for every decision about the course and operation of the rocketship for those four years. At the end of those four years, those 12 positions are re-elected.

Ukes in the School and Community

by Alex Masso. Published in Music Forum magazine, Vol 19 Issue 2 (February 2013)

The Music in Communities Network’s Alex Masso recently went to the Teachers and Leaders of Australian Ukulele Groups (TALAUG) forum in Newcastle. The meeting inspired a new phase of the school-community links project.

What is it about the ukulele that attracts so much interest and brings so many people together to play music? What makes it the highest selling instrument in Australia, overtaking guitars and keyboards? Why do we have ukulele festivals across the country where there are so few festivals for other instruments?

Music in Communities ‘Creative Ageing’ Awards

By Alex Masso. Published in Music Forum magazine, Vol 19 Issue 2 (February 2013)

A project to connect younger generations with the songs of Top End elder indigenous women, a music-driven research program to give voice to stroke survivors with little or no speech, and a Rugby choir bringing blokes together through music are prize winners in the MCA’S 2012 Music in Communities Awards.

Deborah Mills writes in this issue of Music Forum that a National Arts and Health Policy Framework will ensure that the many practitioners in arts and health – already doing great things across Australia – can see the bigger picture of what they are involved in. This resonates with our recent experience judging the Music in Communities Awards.

Music in Communities ‘Creative Ageing’ Awards (2)

By Alex Masso. Published in Music Forum magazine, Vol 19 Issue 2 (February 2013)

A project to connect younger generations with the songs of Top End elder indigenous women, a music-driven research program to give voice to stroke survivors with little or no speech, and a Rugby choir bringing blokes together through music are prize winners in the MCA’S 2012 Music in Communities Awards.

Deborah Mills writes in this issue of Music Forum that a National Arts and Health Policy Framework will ensure that the many practitioners in arts and health – already doing great things across Australia – can see the bigger picture of what they are involved in. This resonates with our recent experience judging the Music in Communities Awards.