Chapter 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:

1. 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.
2. 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:
   1. UK Policy Lab https://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/
   2. 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 diversity as a core component of the plan.