Why Toys Why Now?
“Art is in politics and politics is in art”, I once explained as to why I was applying to be an Assistant Program Manager at Arts NSW. I believed if you were going to make a difference, it had to happen at the policy level, not just from the ground up. And over seven long years of public service, while I attempted to strategically embed and support arts engagement for young people within the political framework, I slowly realized one could be more effective back out in the community. But I digress.
In 2018 I had been meeting with a Senior Executive at UNICEF Australia, discussing the importance of creativity in children’s lives as they inherited the challenges of a complex and fast changing world. We had been approached to feature artwork created by children from Western Sydney schools led by artist Howard Matthew as part of the Sydney Opera House’s Creative Leadership in Learning program. The art works were published in The Children's Report led by UNICEF Australia and the Australian Child Rights Taskforce showcasing the wealth of intelligence and creativity of children grappling with the complex global issues of our times. The report’s recommendations, juxtaposed with the powerful images based on the child’s authentic voice, create a strong reminder of the challenging world children will have to navigate, made only more difficult by the lack of opportunity to be heard.
I keep this report in my ‘go to’ documents and often look at the artworks and policies to remind myself of why I am doing the work I do. I have the following paragraph highlighted and I often refer to it when questioning the informal learning programs, I manage;
Australia’s education system needs fundamental change to become one that is sufficiently adaptable, engaging and relevant to a changing society. The change involves a broader approach to curriculum teaching and practice that includes critical and creative thinking alongside ethical and intercultural understanding.
This reiterates the change I believe in and the passion I have for the work I have delivered at Sydney Opera House, Asia Education Foundation and now at the STEM Centre of Excellence at Science Gallery.
Four years on, while I regrettably don’t see our political leaders progressing these issues fast enough, I do hear the voices of children demanding change. I am optimistic for the future and know that through creative learning experiences and intercultural understanding our young people’s skills, critical thinking, collaboration and communication will provide solutions to old world problems.
And so, with this purpose and need for change, it began. Unexpectedly.
Toy Diplomacy evolved from people needing to connect and reflect on our world in crisis. Five people who had worked together in a former life, started a conversation responding to COVID and ended up exploring the idea of a liminal space. We questioned if we could conjure a collective that provided creatives, decision makers and young people with lived experience to inhabit a space exploring and responding to real world problems.
We allowed ourselves to do what we could, when we could. Hours and hours of Sunday zooms, conversations, ideas, emails, drafts, redrafting, research, website development, financial strategies and business planning occurred over the last 18 months. Squeezing it all in between family commitments, moving houses, careers, job interviews, dog walking and riding the waves of lockdowns across Sydney and Melbourne. We just kept showing up consistently between the messiness of COVID, totally committed but with no real deadlines.
It was always a joyful process to do this dreaming work of ‘what if’. The freedom to let it take as long as was needed was liberating. A light at the end of the tunnel appeared and forced us to really think about how we could live in our community and contribute through meaningful work, to the beat of our own drum.
The subtle alchemy of Toy Diplomacy brings to the table a wide range of expertise, creativity, risk taking, passion and care. As experienced curators, producers and makers we are going to do it a little differently this time around and demand that our values, beliefs and vision for the future is at the core of everything we do. While creative play is a way in which we learn fundamental skills, knowledge and relationships that shape us individually we believe it is a powerful tool for change. At Toy Diplomacy we will embrace this practice into all our projects knowing creativity and expression is ultimately a political act.
By Bridgette Van Leuven
Image credit Howard Matthew