culture360.org will be at the World Summit on Arts and Culture in Melbourne, Australia (3 - 6 October 2011) as part of the activities supported by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).

Among its activities, culture360.org will have an exhibition stand in the Convention Centre in Melbourne from the 3 to the 6 of October, where it will showcase the projects and publications of ASEF in the arts and culture.

Further, culture360.org is looking at connecting its members and users online to the theme of the Summit, “Creative Intersections”, through an online survey that was launched in our newsletter and on the site last week.

This survey investigates the role of the arts in today’s society with one question: “how are the arts a catalyst for change in today’s society”? The idea is to collect 360 answers from the members and users online that will be part of the creation of a map at the booth. This map will be developed by culture360.org in collaboration with the artist Hugh Davies, a creative artist working in the field of spatial practice. Hugh’s work engages audiences and passers to contribute their own thoughts and ideas, thereby allowing the maps to socially evolve.

For this project, Hugh Davies and culture360.org will create a map that will represent the feedback from the online users as well as the feedback from the delegates that will participate to the Summit, around the theme of “Creative Intersections”.

As part of its mission of connecting artists, cultural practitioners and policy makers from Asia and Europe, this collaborative project will be the culture360.org platform where online and offline users meet.

The development of the map will be recorded and documented online,  as well as the process of its creation and growth over the duration of the event.

Below is a short selection of inspiring answers that have come so far from the survey:

Creativity makes connections between previously unrelated thoughts. The shift towards sustainability involves our re-remembering that we are part of an ecosystem where interconnectedness is paramount. Therefore the arts create a platform to establish a new paradigm for the future. (Cherise Asmah, Australia)

"Arts" show the standard of the people. Art is simple. Art is graceful. Its delicate and persuasive characters attract more people and lead to the new form of modern society. (Myo Kyaw Thu, Hong Kong)

Arts is a mirror to one's reflection. It is a tool to educate and to reflect of what we might become or have become...a matter of time. (Sazali Othman, Singapore)

Art is the most creative way of communicating life as it is. One of the few sincere and honest means of criticising the world and propose a critical thinking, without forgetting emotions as an important part of being human. (Catarina Saraiva, Portugal)

The arts can inspire us to change - we already know all the facts, we need to be inspired. (Justin Lee, Singapore)

culture360.org invites everyone to participate to the 5^th World Summit on Arts and Culture and join the online dialogue through the survey.

The see the list of activities supported by culture360.org please visit the project page on ASEF corporate website