Regional identity and digital space: Connecting the arts, place and community engagement

Abstract

AbstractVictoria Cooper and Doug Spowart's 2014 photographic exhibition Speaking About Place: The Nocturne Project sought to capture a sense of place in regional towns throughout Queensland. Incorporating both the physical landscape and the virtual space of social media, the project spoke to themes of regional art, identity and digital connectedness, in order to understand how a sense of place is developed and continually renegotiated through individual experience. Within the context of understanding regional identity and place promotion, this article considers whether regional-based art is able to highlight a shifting sense of place, facilitate social cohesion and contribute to the development and enrichment of local cultural spaces.