Caba Creative founder Duke Albada is set to take a place at the highly sought-after Creating Spaces Conference in Newcastle in March.
With more than 50 applications for the 15 positions, the process was very competitive. Conference manager Siobhan Curran explains the selection.
“We chose applications who were able to demonstrate most strongly the following criteria.
“Applicant must live in a regional city or town in Australia; Demonstrate initiation or participation in not-for-profit renewal initiatives in their local area; The ability to articulate areas of value the Conference would provide to further initiative and likely potential to further renewal initiatives in their area.”
The conference will bring together regional-based community leaders from across Australia who are passionate about renewal and creativity, and who interested in reactivating spaces within their own communities.
They are aiming to learn the impact and potential of creative activation of empty spaces in previously struggling town centres, and be introduced to essential DIY tools and strategies to build creative and engaging spaces and town centre activation.
Besides increasing her knowledge of legal, practical and theoretical issues involved in organising creative activities, Duke believes the conference will “strengthen our network of communities sharing knowledge and experience by means of working together”.
“This is a great opportunity to learn, grow and network,” Duke said.
“I’ve asked the other Caba Creative volunteers to check information about this conference and see if there is anything they think I should be paying special attention to.”
Information on the conference and program can be found at http://creatingspacesconference.floktu.com/
Not for profit community organisation Caba Creative was founded in early 2012 as a means to improve the community spirit and economic viability of Bogangar/Cabarita Beach village and locality. They operate as a platform for local artists, artisans, performers, business operators, residents, youth, indigenous people and environmentalists. Run by an enthusiastic group of competent volunteers, they successfully organised: A high quality pop-up exhibition and creative events in May during the Community Projects Workshops; The extensive and popular Caba Creative Carnivale in September, featuring musical entertainment, exhibition art, art making, family fun, plus a variety of creative and art stalls; and closed their first year with the Caba Couture Bazaar, a pop-up-outlet for local Indy designers.
The inaugural Caba Creative Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 31, at 6.30pm at the Cabarita Beach SLSC.
Duke invites everyone to “come and hear our plans for this year and beyond, and put your ideas forward. Meet the volunteers that have been involved, have a chat and see how you might become actively involved (a little or a lot). All our activities are aimed at improving our community, but we need volunteers (like yourself) to participate in order to make it happen.
“You can find out more about our and other creative activities at www.facebook.com/cabacreative”
