Day 61

'Cutting all ties', Pen and Watercolour on Paper

Had the opportunity to attend a conference today about creative industries and innovation and I have to say that there were a lot of important and compelling ideas and notions being discussed. A lot of those ideas alluded to the level of  segregation that exists on what I see as being three levels. Firstly the local community, being those that are affected directly, secondly the creative industries, being those that are involved in doing, Thirdly the local government, being those that make the decisions. Theses three areas, although ultimately linked and in need of a more symbiotic relationship to thrive, tend to exist very separately. In the talk there were a lot of examples of how certain advocates and groups were attempting to create initiatives that aimed to mediate between these factions and allow for greater integration and a more collaborative approach to inhabiting and using public space. This Idea of integration was further discussed in regards to something that is becoming much more prevalent, that being the cross pollination within the various disciplines with in the creative industries. It would appear that the overall idea of integration  is one that provides a new more innovative way to approach a problem as rather than the decision making process falling on one entity, the room for discussion between disciplines and those involved allows for a more unified approach, one that can be more unique... in some cases even one that can be more radical and exciting. 

In my mind the main obstacle with becoming more integrated is history, what I mean by this is that within any segregated relationship there exists a long standing notion of animosity as all sides see each other as separate, different and unable to understand their own personal views. To put this into context I want to refer to something I once heard in an address to a group of new architecture students, when the speaker talked to them about the possibilities for their future he spoke of opportunity, success and the idea of legacy. The particular point he mentioned that I want to bring to the forefront was that Belfast as a city could stake its main claim to fame on the 'Titanic' a ship that sank on its maiden voyage. Belfast's main draw for tourism, the one thing above all else that Belfast is renowned for, the thing that it prides itself on was in fact an epic and tragic failure. I thought at the time this was a very poignant point one that came to mind again today as it would seem that when we think back about our heritage and our history the most prevalent aspects that we recall are those of a negative nature. It is then reflected in what I mentioned earlier with regards to the issues of history in any relationship where segregation has been a factor. Due to our inclination to hold on to antiquated views and our inability to overlook past transgressions we can become unwilling to move forward. It is important then that we develop the ability to 'cut all ties' with the negative aspects of history, I don't mean that we should completely forget about the past instead I'm merely inferring that we learn from it and move on.  The reason being that if we are unable to get over those initial barriers that can be caused by this previous negativity or animosity then we run the risk of being cemented in a creative or social impasse, severely limiting our ability to innovate.