At the 2019 annual general meeting of the Lorne Community Connect (formerly the Lorne Senior Citizens) the members accepted the proposal that the centre become a hub for the Arts in Lorne and the surrounding communities.<\/p>\n
The Lorne community now has a rich tradition of fostering the Arts. The Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Lorne Film and the Lorne Festival of Performing Arts are all well established in our community.<\/p>\n
However, I do believe that the challenge of developing a centre that fosters the Arts, in an ongoing way, has come at an opportune time for the following reasons:
\n\u2022 The decline in western democracies of traditional community enablers \u2013 church communities, traditional service clubs and community celebrations.
\n\u2022 The development of a silo mentality by our traditional service providers \u2013 education, health and local government, who do cooperate but should be collaborating.
\n\u2022 The inevitable focus on personal material well-being in relatively wealthy communities.
\n\u2022 The isolation brought about by increased \u201cscreen-time\u201d that the new social platforms can lead to in smaller communities as users tend to connect to broader global communities, and
\n\u2022 Work-wise we have moved from predominately hands to head to now heart based employment. This in turn should place greater emphasis in our learning and development programs on: leadership, empathy, creativity, collaboration and trust.<\/p>\n
These latter qualities are ones that are developed through exposure to the Arts.<\/p>\n
In Lorne over the past decade we have directed significant resources into recreational and sporting facilities and we are very well served as a community by these spaces and clubs.<\/p>\n
The time is opportune to look to our creative needs. There is a strong link between social connection, mental health and well-being and the Arts. I believe the Surf Coast Shire is planning to direct more resources into these areas. The committee of the Lorne Community Connect has met with the Shire\u2019s Arts Development Officer with a view to the progression of a long-term creative strategic plan for the centre.<\/p>\n