2018-12-11 S&O Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 10 - Noosa Cultural Plan 2019-2023

Message from our Mayor
There has never been a human culture that did not engage in both visual art and musical creativity. Even our early
hominid ancestors engaged in visual arts.
Cultural activities bring communities together to celebrate something that is wonderful about humanity: our
ability to share our own intrinsic personal experience of life.
Plainly the creative arts are essential components of human endeavour. No other creature can share their
imagination in the same way.
I say imagination because as well as being capable of being imaginative – that is to create something new out of
our experiences – we each view the world differently.
We are each the product of our unique set of influences, and in order to make sense of the world, we must each
interpret and assess the world in our own intrinsic way. Whilst there may be sizeable overlaps, your world view is
never going to be identical to anyone else’s world view.
And that is, arguably, one reason why we humans create art. Through the arts we get to experience other people’s
very intimate world views. That can be both humbling and liberating.
Few zealots or fundamentalists take an interest in the arts.
Indeed, zealots are often opposed to the sort of pluralism and
diversity that the arts encompass.
That’s because art, by its very nature, challenges our personal
perceptions of the world. Art is a constant reminder of our
essential individual differences. As a result, the arts breed
understanding as well as a tolerance of diversity.
Heritage is also a means by which we come to know ourselves
better, to define who we are and how we got here.
This Noosa Cultural Plan will help ensure that both the arts and
our communal history will continue to be positive forces,
fostering individual wellbeing and building social cohesion.

Tony Wellington
Noosa Mayor


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