Planning for a wedding is like designing a play and writing the script and then using that material as you set the choreography (the dance - the pattern) that makes the wedding flow.
What I love about weddings is they way they reflect the couples and their families. If the celebrant works with the couple, asking them about what they want on the day then the wedding will be uniquely these.
I have done weddings for young people and old people, most New Zealand ethnic groups, including Indian, Chinese, Maori, Pacific Island, English and Pakeha. All are different and all demonstrating that special character of the family.
The wedding must be about the well-being of the couple, but also must recognise that a wedding if about a family and friends coming together to celebrate.
Email me if you want to discuss a wedding penny.eames@paradise@paradise.net.nz or visit my website at www.pseconsultancy.com for more information.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
What is Cultural Capital?
Cultural capital is the wealth that is created when society
recognises and invests in the components of culture and also when culture is
used to provide economic social, environmental and cultural wellbeing? It is
also about creating income, self employment and social capital.
Here are a few definitions to help you understand this
value:
To understand Cultural Capital and Cultural Well-being you should download and read "Cultural Well-being and Cultural Capital" by Penny Eames; http://artsaccessinternational.org/cultural-wellbeing /
If you don't want to download then try some of these definitions:
“Cultural capital describes the value of culture when measured as an asset in terms of economic, social and environmental resources”[1].
“Cultural capital describes the value of culture when measured as an asset in terms of economic, social and environmental resources”[1].
“...the term cultural capital is used
because, like money, our cultural inheritance can be translated into social
resources (things like wealth, power and status) and the cultural capital we
accumulate from birth can be “spent:’ in education systems as we try to achieve
things that are considered to be culturally important[2]”.
“Cultural capital is an important aspect of
social capital and social capital is an expression of cultural capital in
practice. Social capital is based on
and grows from the norm, values networks and ways of operating that are the
core of cultural capital”.[3]
To understand these quotes we also need to understand what
we mean by the word culture. The easiest definition I have found is based if
from UNESCO and this definition was accepted and adopted in the Declaration on
Cultural Diversity in 2001.
“...culture
should be regarded as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual
emotional features of society or a social groups, and ... it encompasses, in
addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value
systems, traditions and beliefs[4]”
In
my publications I have simplified the meanings and suggest that “culture is the histories (myths),
ideologies, values and the rituals that expresses them[5]”.
This simple definition gives us the headings for analysing the existing
culture of a society, town, community or group. We can look at these different headings –
histories (heritage and myths), values, ideologies and rituals (ceremonies
behaviours) and note the positives and negatives. Then we can see how these
characteristics of culture can be used to enhance wellbeing generally and
become assets
[1]
Eames Cultural Well-being and Cultural Capital 2006 www.artsaccessinternational.org
[4]
UNESCO 2002 UNESCO (2001) Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity,
Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity Adopted by the 31st session of the
UNESCO General Conference, Paris, 2 November 2001
[5] Eames 2009 Spirituality of Older New Zealanders :
Bishops Action Foundation www.pseconsultancy.com
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Cultural Wellbeing includes social wellbeing
There is now a significant amount of research showing the value of Social Capital, but not as much research demonstrating the importance of Cultural Capital.
Cultural Capital is about the histories, ideologies, values and rituals of a society and how to measure that in terms of capital and wealth. Social Capital is only a small amount of this. It is worth looking at my paper on my website pseconsultancy.com and under Cultural Economics download my paper to the 17th International Conference on Cultural Economics.
The paper was warmly received particularly the emphasis on Genuine Progress Indicators and Sustainable development.
These buddha look so happy and warm on the side of the road in Japan.
Cultural Capital is about the histories, ideologies, values and rituals of a society and how to measure that in terms of capital and wealth. Social Capital is only a small amount of this. It is worth looking at my paper on my website pseconsultancy.com and under Cultural Economics download my paper to the 17th International Conference on Cultural Economics.
The paper was warmly received particularly the emphasis on Genuine Progress Indicators and Sustainable development.These buddha look so happy and warm on the side of the road in Japan.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Japan and Cultural Economics Conference
It was great having the opportunity to give a paper at the Cultural
Economics Conference in Kyoto last month. Stimulating to hear speaker
after speaker emphasising the value of culture and cultural capital.
Of particular interest were papers on the way Libraries can adapt to the world of E readers and become the Third Place in towns and the hug for development.
Other papers showed how valuable having a highly experienced, intellegent and senior administrator in Local Government positions makes such a difference to the nurturing of creative towns and cities.
The suggestion backed up with research was that it is often one or two people, sometimes the Mayor, Deputy Mayor or a senior local government official that stimulates creativity in a society. They need others including artists to provide the sparks, but they only light up when the administator of local government official lights the match and/ or brings others together to stimulate the sector to be creative and thus create creative cities or towns.
Of particular interest were papers on the way Libraries can adapt to the world of E readers and become the Third Place in towns and the hug for development.
Other papers showed how valuable having a highly experienced, intellegent and senior administrator in Local Government positions makes such a difference to the nurturing of creative towns and cities.
The suggestion backed up with research was that it is often one or two people, sometimes the Mayor, Deputy Mayor or a senior local government official that stimulates creativity in a society. They need others including artists to provide the sparks, but they only light up when the administator of local government official lights the match and/ or brings others together to stimulate the sector to be creative and thus create creative cities or towns.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Cultural Economics today
Japan is an amazing culture, organised and with an amazing rail and subway system which makes it easy to travel around.
The conference on Cultural Economics is stimulating. Today I give my speech. Visit that speech on my website www.pseconsultancy.com and go to Cultural Economics drop down and read my speech.
The conference on Cultural Economics is stimulating. Today I give my speech. Visit that speech on my website www.pseconsultancy.com and go to Cultural Economics drop down and read my speech.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Election and Cultural Well-being
“In a sense, culture is everything; it is who we are; how we see each other. It is not just an add-on to life, but the way our lives express themselves”
Judge Albie Sachs, Constitutional Court of South Africa
In New Zealand we have an election at the end of November. The parties are putting up policies and presenting their manifestos. They are a pick and mix of ideas, most designed to collect enough votes to win the treasury benches. None of the parties are looking at cultural well-being and none are showing a concern for our New Zealand identity and our place in the world.
Like most countries in the world economic well-being is the main discussion point. How do we balance the books and at the same time build infrastructure and provide social, environmental and cultural well-being?
Do we sell the family silver and pay off the mortgage or do we keep the silver and borrow more, or design new tax systems, or do we create jobs, become greener? Or do we try to hold the balance of power by influencing whichever party gets the majority of the votes?
There is also an interesting different development this year. One party is determined to have an election that is based on a President – one leader - and leaves us to forget the others in the team who may or may not be popular. The other party is ignoring this philosophy and placing a range of people in the team in front of the electorate. The media loves the President – he smiles and sets up photo opportunity after photo opportunity and this sells - well (they think) the newspapers.
The challenge for all political parties, in New Zealand and internationally, is that the landscape is just so different, and the culture has changed.
Media communication is dispersed. Internet and SKY makes it so easy to turn off the TV. One Friday night we had the opening TV presentations. The first was National and John Key talked and talked and staged a few questions. Labour followed and we had the history of the Labour Party and the key policies. Then Green profiled their policies and wandered around the country showing us that the rivers are dirty and the children are hungry. The next day I conducted an informal poll. What did you think of the opening presentations for the election? Everyone I talked to had switched on the TV to listen to the presentations. BUT everyone I talk to had listened to the first few minutes of John Key’s talk fest and switched to another channel. Several joked about John Key’s clothing, but no-one waited to hear the other presentations. That was sad because the Labour and Green presentations were not only interesting, but beautifully presented.
These three presentations showed a significant contract in all the things that make our culture here in New Zealand. The past represented by the National Party talk fest, Labour Party history selected history as interesting and showed the values we have now and would appeal to the middle group of voters. Green was about the future.
How these presentations will fit with the wider political presentation will be shown in the voting at the end of November.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Spiritual Well-being and the Arts
Throughout my working life I have worked with people in prisons, in hospitals, people with disabilities, refugees and disadvantage migrants and the sick elderly.
What I have been doing is introducing them to the arts, visual and performing arts, craft and literary arts, particularly songwriting and short story writing.
I have been conscious that many of the groups and individuals I work with have little or no contact with any formal religion.
What I understood was that most of the artists involved in the programmes set up saw there work as being part of their spirituality.
They saw their art as being part of themselves, some acknowledge that it was their religion. Many saw the sense of achievement as something spiritual.
Many also saw music as a expression of their own spirituality, but also where they went to get peace and become whole.
For many, now a days, there is little in the way of connection between their feeling of peace and tranquility and any organised religious ideology.
I was told by some people in prisons that when they could return to their cell (usually terrible places) they can find peace by taking themselves into "their fantasy world" their spiritual world. They would say going into this fantasy world was the only way to survive.
Maybe there are some lessons for young people who are disconnected with society and are contemplating suicide. Maybe a spiritual world is an essential part of well-being? Maybe they can only get in touch with this through the arts?
What I have been doing is introducing them to the arts, visual and performing arts, craft and literary arts, particularly songwriting and short story writing.
I have been conscious that many of the groups and individuals I work with have little or no contact with any formal religion.
What I understood was that most of the artists involved in the programmes set up saw there work as being part of their spirituality.
They saw their art as being part of themselves, some acknowledge that it was their religion. Many saw the sense of achievement as something spiritual.
Many also saw music as a expression of their own spirituality, but also where they went to get peace and become whole.
For many, now a days, there is little in the way of connection between their feeling of peace and tranquility and any organised religious ideology.
I was told by some people in prisons that when they could return to their cell (usually terrible places) they can find peace by taking themselves into "their fantasy world" their spiritual world. They would say going into this fantasy world was the only way to survive.
Maybe there are some lessons for young people who are disconnected with society and are contemplating suicide. Maybe a spiritual world is an essential part of well-being? Maybe they can only get in touch with this through the arts?
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