Gold Coast repackaging itself as center for global festivities

Author: Iloka Benneth Chiemelie
Published: 31 January 2019

How and why have World’s Fairs changed between the nineteenth and early twenty-first centuries?

In accordance with the remarks made by John Eastman, in the 1893 Columbian Exposition held in Chicago, the writer deftly expresses that there is a new era of word fairly characterized by a spirit that is captivated with the observation of cultures, as well as how these cultures are defined in relation to place (Paul, 1987). In the late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the great international exhibitions and world fairs featured these fascinations and other elements, which is all about a curious taxonomic shift from earlier view that marked the last half of the nineteenth century. Before this time, majority of the observers of world fairs pointed out that the human experience is universal and discorded the role that climate and environment play in shaping this universality, and as such the influence that ‘place’ has on the definition of culture (Paul, 1987). The middle of the nineteenth century witnessed the occurrence of a taxonomic crisis, and this crisis focused on how culture should be defined, and was experienced more in the USA as a result of the dilemma that Americans faced with respect to harmonizing diversity in ethnical and regional sense of their country. This harmonization was more sought for because of the presumed homogeneity of USA as a single political entity and a civilized nation (Paul, 1987). On the same note, similar experienced were recorded among Europeans such as Charles Darwin who faced a similar issue with respect to decoding the mysteries posed by a physically-diverse world, featuring a mix of people, culture, animals, and plants that are heterogeneous. By the early twentieth century, both the Americans and Europeans had resolved these issues in a way that allowed for advanced explanation geared towards handling the riddles that ethic and regional diversity pose. That is to say, people started identifying culture within a “place”, a remedy that was shown to be amenable with the concomitant development of pluralism and regionalism as the right remedies for handing the dilemma associated with diversity (Paul, 1987).

In essence, there was an experienced change in world fair within this period, which saw a shift from the universality of view to more of demographic settings that allowed places to be definitive centers of cultural pedigree. That is to say, cultures were defined by placed and people started to recognize that it is not universal. That is to say, the culture of Europe is different from that of America and Asia. Even in Asia, the culture of Malaysia is different from that of Indonesia. Even in Malaysia, the culture of the Malays is different from that of the Chinese and so on. The reason for this shift was to address the diversity in regional and ethnical sense.

Why would the Gold Coast want to repackage itself as having a more arts and culture-based image through the Bleach Festival?

Can you imagine a society without arts? Even if such society still manages to exist, there wouldn’t be much beauty, enquiry, joy, or humor beyond what nature will make available (Sam, 2014). This is because arts does function as a means of employment, acting as an interface between people and science, and provide necessary rook for experimentation and expression that push the economy upwards. Records have it that more people are employed in the Australian arts industry than in mining, and such lead to dramatically positive impact on the quality of people’s life. Added to this, it should be noted that culture and arts are big deals across the world with people traveling from far and near to experience the culture, lifestyle, arts, architecture, and history of a given place (Sam, 2014).  

In recent years, there have been an incredible growth on the arts offerings of Gold Coast. It is important to point out that this is not accidental, as tis would have still happened organically with time. However, it is also vital to highlight that investments and strategic planning geared towards supporting creative communities have been the backbone of this tremendous growth, and when it comes to cultural products, the city is actually pushing well beyond its weight (Sam, 2014). The Creative Director of Gold Coast’ “Beach Festival”, Louise Bezzina, pointed out that this increasing wave is cultural products is actually moving to national and international level (Sam, 2014).

In a review of its cultural strategies, The City of Gold Coast (2017) pointed out some of the factors behind its interest on building a more arts and culture-based image with the beach festival. First, the push is to create more room for employment. With numerous people showing interest on arts and culture, building such image would push tourism to the Gold Coast upwards and as such create more employment opportunities. Secondly, they want to create a creative city that is productive and smart. It was noted in their analysis of their 2030 cultural strategy that they encourage a forward thinking, curious, and critically debating society through its cultural programs. This will allow the city to attract and retain highly flexible and skilled workforce that possesses the elements of innovation and entrepreneurship, and capable of getting the job done in a city (Gold Coast) that is open for business. Finally, highly employment and business rate will also increase GDP and economic growth of the country and this is another reason for the push.

How have the exhibitions staged at the Bendigo Art Gallery changed that city’s image and encouraged tourism?

Popularly known as the ‘the Bendigo effect” in the trade industry, it is actually the antipodean cousin to ‘the Bilbao effect’. It is used to describe as transformation process that see a regional arts gallery become for unique, so different, and so popular that it actually puts the city firmly on the international cultural map while drawing millions of dollars for the city in tourist revenue (The Age Australia, 2014). The Bendigo Arts Gallery has had an impact that is based on a solid foundation. The governance structure and funding added with supports from the council and co-aligned portfolios have made it possible for the gallery team to push towards local, national and international recognitions, as well as take advantage of the opportunities that such creates (The Age Australia, 2014). It is also attested by all stakeholders that the key organizational resource driving overall achievement of the institution is the entrepreneurial skills of Karen, Quinlan, who has been the gallery’s director since 2000.

The Bendigo Art Gallary is good example of an institution that has a clear strategic plan focused on its core activities. The team has built a strong strategy which it uses to bring in quality and significant exhibitions to the city. In recent years, the major driver of its activities has been the international exhibitions that are largely recognizable, most of them coming from the arena of arts and design, and photography (Jody et al., 2013). These exhibitions have been able to attain a greater level of appeal and attracted wide range of audience into the city. It is also noted that this art museum has focused greatly on programs that are community minded, offering varied activities that connect the local community and this is also one of the driver for the social impact the gallery is having (Jody et al., 2013).

Although much have been said about the impact the Bendigo Art Gallery has had on tourism within the region, it is important to note that it has also impacted on social contact, skill acquisition and art inclusion within the region as well (Jody et al., 2013). The city’s image has been changes as well as tourism encouraged with the arts staged at the arena because it has made it possible to include all kinds of art and as such attracted numerous audience that come to participate in the program or be featured. Thus, the rate of tourism has grown as people frequently troupe in, while the city’s image has also changed to be an art center (Jody et al., 2013).

How has the film festival at Lone Pine changed its image and contributed to sustainable tourism?

Across the western side of the county, filming began in Lone Pine in 1919 with a move called The Weaker Vessel, and this was followed by Pollyanna, a movie that has Mary Pickford as the main actor. Fatty Arbuckle followed suit with the shooting of The Round-up, which is considered to be the first film that was entirely shot on the location of Lone Pine. Since then, the popularity of this earlier has quickly evolved with numerous other notable film projects filmed at this location (The Museum of Western Film History, n.d.).

In 1989, the community and business leaders of Lone Pine decided to formulate plan that will pay tribute to the numerous Hollywood heritage that the city has attracted, including directors and producers that have been frequenting the city and its surrounding areas for film related reasons. The long standing affair that Hollywood already has with this unique area meant that the first festival was hugely attended by a wide list of talent (The Museum of Western Film History, n.d.). The first festival that was held in Lone Pine was called the Sierra Film Festival and it was co-sponsored by both businesses and individuals. In this first festival, a proclamation was featured that acknowledged the debt of gratitude the organizers had for Roy Rodgers who dedicated the historical marker that made the place famous. Since then, numerous actors and directors have also been acknowledged for their contributions. Quentin Tarantino spent 3 months in this areas in 2012 in the course of filming Django Unchained. Since the festival started, the government issues around 30-40 permits per annum for movies, commercials, TV shows, and photo shoot. Visitors to this location can also explore Lone Pine with the aid of the museum’s Movie Road Self-Guided Tour Booklet, which will provide them with directions to ten locations for different movies (The Museum of Western Film History, n.d.).

Therefore, it is evidenced that the movie festival has changed the face of Lone Pine into a unique destination for movie, TVs shows, Photography, and other arts relates activities. This has also drawn numerous interest from the world of acting and as such it is being frequently used in movies across the world. It also boosts a museum and concert in the rocks, making it a tourist attraction (The Museum of Western Film History, n.d.). Due to these features, the area is now sustainable for tourism because visitors now have numerous reasons for visiting. The film makers might be using it for another film, while tourists might just be learning from the past or admiring the huge aestheticism of the place.

In what sense might we see rural festivals as more authentic than those staged in cities? Illustrate your answer with an example.

In arts and tourism, the concept of authenticity have been described as a “slippery concept” (Belhassen et al., 2008), but the best way to view it is as an essentially contested concept (Gallie, 1964) considering that the interpretation is heterogeneous (Lamont, 2014; Mkono, 2013). A more positive outlook was offered by Wang (1999, p. 353) who described the debate as not being  a matter of black or white, but involving more of a colorful spectrum, in which the colors are unique and ambiguous. Based on that understanding, it can be stated that authentic festival deals with a festival that occurs in the natural form, where people can feel the natural vibes in its real realm and not those developed through staged programs. That is to say, place and feel is important for a festival to be considered authentic. Thus, rural festivals are considered to be more authentic can staged festivals because they come with this place and feel elements. People can experience it at the original place and get the opportunity of experiencing the original feel.

A good example if demonstrated in the study of Belhassen et al. (2008), where it became evident that place intersect with subjectivity of experience with the Christian pilgrimage as an example. In this example, there is a clear link between socially constructed meaning and how people directly experience the place, creating a dynamic relationship among meaning, experience and the physical environment. Therefore, no matter now the festivity of Jesus Christ might be staged, it cannot deliver the same “wow” feel that on gets by going to pilgrimage in Israel. Thus, rural festivities are more authentic than staged festivities because it does give people the chance of having a one-on-one experience.

References

Belhassen, Y., Caton, K., & Steward, W. P. (2008). The search for authenticity in the pilgrim experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 35(3), 668–689.

Belhassen, Y., Caton, K., & Steward, W. P. (2008). The search for authenticity in the pilgrim experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 35(3), 668–689.

Gallie, W. B. (1964). Essentially contested concepts. In W. B. Gallie (Ed.), Philosophy and the historical understanding (pp. 157–191). London: Chatto and Windus.

Jody, E., Kerri, B., and Joanna, M. (2013). Demonstrating impact – four cases of studies of public art museums. Available at: https://creative.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/56364/Demonstrating_Impact_in_Public_Art_Museums_Report-2.pdf [Accessed on: 1^st June 2018].

Lamont, M. (2014). Authentication in sports tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 45, 1–17.

Paul, A., T. (1987). Kaleidoscopes of the world: international exhibitions and the concept of culture-place, 1851-1915. Available at: https://journals.ku.edu/amerstud/article/download/2515/2474 [Accessed on: 1^st June 2018].

Sam, M. (2014). Changing the city through arts and culture. Available at: https://wearegoldcoast.com.au/arts-and-culture/arts-and-culture-gold-coast/ [Accessed on: 1^st June 2018].

The Age Australia (2014). Bendigo Art Gallery thrives on the Quinlan effects. Available at: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bendigo-art-gallery-thrives-on-the-quinlan-effects-20140320-355ov.html [Accessed on: 1^st June 2018].

The city of Gold Coast (2017). Culture strategy 2030. Available at: http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/documents/bf/cultural-strategy.pdf [Accessed on: 1^st June 2018].

The Museum of Western Film History (n.d.). Film Festival, Museum, Concert Background. Available at: https://www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/images/Museum_Background_Long_Form__Short_Form_FINAL.pdf [Accessed on: 1^st June 2018].

Wang, N. (1999). Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 349–370