Sutton’s Place – Get Creative Christchurch

Our Places | Sutton’s Place

– What is Sutton’s Place?
– Why do we need to “Get Creative” and make Sutton’s Place?
– Sutton’s Place Links

What is Sutton’s Place?
https://www.riseuprichmond.nz/suttons-place/

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What if we made this whole area from Fitzgerald Avenue-Stanmore Road and Harvey Terrace-River Road into “Sutton’s Place”: a creative space for our local Christchurch Arts Community, and a place to welcome creatives from all around the world?

With Bill Sutton’s house/garden as the centrepiece, we could add:
– living/studio spaces for artist’s in residence,
– learning spaces: day/night classes for arts & crafts, art business classes,
– eco-friendly cafe/gallery/shop/information centre,
– car parking and bike stands for those using the Avon-Ōtākaro Cycle Route,
– outdoor natural wood easels for painting, picnic tables and seating
– landscape design that creates a ‘picture’ you want to capture, with whatever medium you like to use as an artist
– outdoor natural wood picture frames, that frame a view, and/or create an opportunity to take a selfie or group photo, to share on social media,
with Sutton’s Garden for Outdoor Teaching, Art/Sculpture Park, and Outdoor Arts Related Events, set in a beautiful garden setting over looking the Avon River, for all types of artists to come and be a part of Sutton’s legacy.

Why do we need to “Get Creative” and make Sutton’s Place?
“Why Building Arts-Based Communities Is So Important:
You might not be familiar with the term ‘creative placemaking,’ but you’ve probably seen a lot of it. Think ‘art in public places’ with very specific goals.
For the past decade, creative placemaking has come to describe projects in which ‘art plays an intentional and integrated role in place-based community planning and development.’ That definition is from Jamie Bennett, executive director of ArtPlace America (APA), a consortium of federal agencies, banks and philanthropic foundations who believe that artists and arts organizations can shape the social, physical and economic characters of their communities.
Putting art at the heart of a community enhances our lives by stirring hard-to-articulate feelings and inspiring us to look beyond what we believe to be possible and imagine a more vibrant, exciting future. It also reminds us that we’re all creative beings — and that whether we’re making art or music, telling stories or cathartically sharing in the experience, we’re all connected.
The thing to realize is that artists are the one asset that is present in every community. So when you’re thinking about asset-based community development, not every city will have a beautiful waterfront or strong public transportation system or major university. But every single community has people who sing and dance and tell stories. Most art is consumed in-person, in real time and with other people. So because of that, people have to go somewhere and do something together. That drives foot traffic, which is good community development 101. You want positive street presence, you want eyes on the street and public safety. And when you have big groups of people, they tend to spend money, because they want to buy a sandwich or magazine or dinner or a drink. Arts and culture can drive foot traffic, local economies and improve public safety.
But why we ultimately need art is because the arts do something that nothing else does, which is drive more stable communities and build community attachment and social cohesion and civic engagement. Our research shows that people who participate in the arts are more likely to participate in activities beyond the arts, like volunteering, at higher rates.”
– https://www.nextavenue.org/arts-based-communities/