12: Architectural, Archaeological and Cultural Heritage
In section 12.8, Creativity and The Arts, suggests that “the county of Galway has long been
associated with the arts and culture, with an exceptional quality of life and natural landscape
offering artists and creatives the type of environment to thrive. Supporting creative communities is
vital and there is a responsibility to ensure that the landscape is protected, the built and natural
heritage is further developed in a sustainable manner and that the elements that are conducive to
creativity are safeguarded.”
While this subsection correctly identifies creativity and the arts as a vital component of community
life it fails to recognise the central role artists can play supporting a Just Transition. Artistic expression and design is more than window dressing. It is central to the collective imagination we
need to understand the complexity of moving towards a carbon neutral society. Galway County
Council can become important actors in this process by amplifying the voice of creative sector and
connecting this with a multidisciplinary response to the climate and biodiversity emergency.
Proposed amendment or inclusion:
⚫ Galway County Council should adopt a more creative approach to policy making that
encourages co-design with local communities, understands the need for experimental thinking
and recognises storytelling as a core component of this process.
⚫ To achieve this, the appropriate supports should be put in place to bring artists and designers
into the process of policy making and encourage multidisciplinary networks to emerge across
the county. There are a number of examples of this working in practice including:
◼ UK Policy Lab https://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/
◼ Public policy labs in European Union members states https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC102665
Rationale:
The Draft Galway County Development Plan 2022 - 2028 can do more to encourage multidisciplinary
collaboration. This is not an easy process, it requires a shift away from siloed thinking towards open
innovation and participatory practices. Artists, designers and other creative practitioners are
uniquely positioned to help facilitate this process and it is important that Galway County Council put
in place supports for this now.
To briefly highlight this point, the word imagination does not appear once in the entire document.
While this is an overly simplistic example it is offered to emphasise a point made in the opening
statement of this document. The language we choose to use everyday matters. Galway County
Council has an opportunity to craft a distinctive voice for the region and this can only be achieved by
encouraging creativity as a core component of the plan. Opening up to citizen - led action will create
the space for our collective imagination to guide us to more sustainable ways of everyday life.