The Role of Parks
We may not think immediately of parks when we think of creative capital, but there is a lot that goes on in parks that is inherently creative, educational, and engaging of community. From an individual artist sketching, to some hip hop dancers gathered around a cd/mp3 player, to an outdoor film festival, to a free Shakespeare in the Park, parks of all kinds in all kinds of places are venues where community creative capital is on display.
Laura Lewis Mandeles
Laura - are there policy implications for your view of parks? In other words, how might we consider integrating parks into the array of cultural assets that a community has available? Is it a matter of coordination or raising awareness or is it just fine the way it is?
Marc
Parks are a venue where people can create, participate in, and observe art of all types - ranging from someone sitting down with a guitar and attracting some people to sing along, or a person sketching, or even children drawing with chalk on the ground, to formally organized performances and classes. Parks organize some programming - recreational, education, and cultural (which I think all have some inherent element of creative capital) - but there is plenty of room for the spontaneous, unplanned experience of and experiment with creativity.
