Cars are at the heart of everyday Australian life. Even if they don’t interest you all that much, or even if you mainly use public transport, you probably also use a car regularly. The Sunday drive, the regional road tour, the daily commute are all as Australian as burnt toast and peeling sunburn. The annual Summernats road extravaganza in Australia’s national capital celebrates this mobile culture. With some imagination, it could be even more – celebrating a central, while challenging, part of contemporary Australian popular culture.
The annual Summernats four-day extravaganza of cars and loud revving motors has been a fixture on the Canberra calendar for as long as I’ve lived here – getting on for 22 years. Plenty of Canberrans hate Summernats because of the noise and the crowds and the petrol fumes. Whether they’d hate a large music festival as much is hard to tell. Maybe it’s the NIMBY syndrome – not in my back yard?
The annual Summernats four-day extravaganza of cars and loud revving motors has been a fixture on the Canberra calendar for as long as I’ve lived here – getting on for 22 years. Plenty of Canberrans hate Summernats because of the noise and the crowds and the petrol fumes. Whether they’d hate a large music festival as much is hard to tell. Maybe it’s the NIMBY syndrome – not in my back yard?
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| Interest in cars pops up in unexpected places. This one was on the traditional site of the Summernats event, EPIC (Exhibition Park in Canberra), but this was during the weekly Farmers Markets also held there. |
‘I
prefer silence but I can hardly complain, just as I wouldn’t complain
if a large music festival took place instead – it’s only four days once a
year and it’s the price you pay for living in a city, even a regional
one like Canberra, albeit the national capital.’
I live close to the venue that Summernats uses and can hear the noise of the cars all day during the duration of the event. Many years ago, a gym I had a membership at asked if we’d prefer more videos or more music. I replied, ‘more silence’. I may prefer silence but I can hardly complain, just as I wouldn’t complain if a large music festival took place instead – it’s only four days once a year and it’s the price you pay for living in a city, even a regional one like Canberra, albeit the national capital. Mostly what I’ve noticed when previous Summernats have occurred have been a brief raising of the level of edgy haircuts and even edgier cars across the North of our compact human-sized city.
In its earlier days Summernats was better known for its wet T-shirt competitions and burnouts in quiet suburban streets. It had to clean up its act to continue, especially most recently in the challenging world of global pandemic. Governments are prepared to overlook superspreader events if they bring in the bucks, but when events are a threatened species, no event manager wants to get on the wrong side of the public – the part of it that doesn’t attend the event, anyway – or Governments.
‘Fringe festival’
I noticed that this year – I think for the first time ever – Summernats featured a two-day ‘fringe festival’ in the inner-city suburb of Braddon. Braddon is better known as the home of cool hipsters and fine restaurants, but is often used for celebratory events. The Summernats event seemed to be mainly a street parade of finely tuned cars, food and cold drinks, with some undefined ‘music’ thrown in as a sideline. It was supported by the City Renewal Authority, an ACT Government agency tasked with kickstartng the city economy.
In its earlier days Summernats was better known for its wet T-shirt competitions and burnouts in quiet suburban streets. It had to clean up its act to continue, especially most recently in the challenging world of global pandemic. Governments are prepared to overlook superspreader events if they bring in the bucks, but when events are a threatened species, no event manager wants to get on the wrong side of the public – the part of it that doesn’t attend the event, anyway – or Governments.
‘Fringe festival’
I noticed that this year – I think for the first time ever – Summernats featured a two-day ‘fringe festival’ in the inner-city suburb of Braddon. Braddon is better known as the home of cool hipsters and fine restaurants, but is often used for celebratory events. The Summernats event seemed to be mainly a street parade of finely tuned cars, food and cold drinks, with some undefined ‘music’ thrown in as a sideline. It was supported by the City Renewal Authority, an ACT Government agency tasked with kickstartng the city economy.
‘This one-off idea could be the start of something bigger. I’m very interested in the importance of creativity and culture to everyday life and the passions that fill it….Why not apply some creativity and think about how this could be enlarged and engage more nationally’
According to the organisers, ‘The CBD comes alive on Friday and Saturday nights at Summernats 34 with the first ever Summernats Fringe Festival Braddon. Thanks to the City Renewal Authority, the Braddon precinct will host hundreds of pre-approved Summernats entrant vehicles that will combine with live music, great food and cold drinks to create an epic atmosphere in the heart of Canberra.’
Start of something bigger?
It strikes me that this one-off idea could be the start of something bigger. I’m very interested in the importance of creativity and culture to everyday life and the passions that fill it. Large events like these can easily become locked into the same old attractions, year after year. Why not apply some creativity and think about how this could be enlarged and engage more nationally, with online events that tap the creativity of those that admire cars?
Like it or not, an event that celebrates cars is also about design and innovation. Why not have a component of the event that focuses on the electric vehicles of the future? The whole universe of cars is about to change more drastically than we can imagine, so an event like this could look forward into a different world.
‘Like it or not, an event that celebrates cars is also about design and innovation. Why not have a component of the event that focuses on the electric vehicles of the future?
Thinking about Summernats reminds me that boundaries are very malleable. Melbourne woman Kate Reid abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged.
To recognise the way creativity can appear everywhere amongst anyone, what about a special award or event celebrating those young women who love their cars or that highlight the ‘bush mechanic’ tradition in remote Aboriginal communities. I notice that the Summernats website promotes a similar event in Alice Springs, already with some 400 entrants. The world is full of photographers – what about an online photographic exhibition about cars? Organisers could commission an annual theme song that highlights and promotes the event – the sound effects are all there.
Cultural institutions and the role of the car
The national cultural institutions in Canberra could get on board, with events and exhibitions that celebrate the role of the car and road travel in Australian life, a life that has always been a mobile one. There are many collections around the world that feature cars and there have been even more exhibitions that focused on the presence and the role of the car in contemporary life. One of my favourite museums of all time, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, presented the exhibition ‘Cars: Accelerating the Modern World’ from 2019-2020. It noted ‘Over its short 130-year history, the car has become one of the most loved, contested and influential innovations in the world. It has revolutionised manufacturing, transformed how we move, forever changing our cities, environment and economies.’
Cultural institutions and the role of the car
The national cultural institutions in Canberra could get on board, with events and exhibitions that celebrate the role of the car and road travel in Australian life, a life that has always been a mobile one. There are many collections around the world that feature cars and there have been even more exhibitions that focused on the presence and the role of the car in contemporary life. One of my favourite museums of all time, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, presented the exhibition ‘Cars: Accelerating the Modern World’ from 2019-2020. It noted ‘Over its short 130-year history, the car has become one of the most loved, contested and influential innovations in the world. It has revolutionised manufacturing, transformed how we move, forever changing our cities, environment and economies.’
'It’s a big ask, possibly beyond the strategic vision of the Summernats organisers.
However, if the creative component of the event was to make the most of
the strands of popular culture that everyone without exception engages
with – like music and photography – the whole event could be broader and
more interesting and involve many more people than it does. This need
not necessarily be on location at the physical event itself. It could
become a key element of contemporary Australian popular culture, part of
the creativity and culture that will increasingly define Australia in
the local and global world.'
There is an Art Car Museum in Houston, Texas and well-known museums like the Smithsonian American Art Museum have large collections. In Australia, as part of its long-running annual festival focused on all things design, DESIGN Canberra presents BMW cars featuring striking artist designs. My old home, the Powerhouse Museum, has always had a major collection of vehicles, previously displayed in its Transport Gallery. Incidentally my office when I worked there was on a mezzanine floor that overlooked the Gallery and a Catalina Flying Boat it featured that was suspended from the ceiling of the Museum. Currently it has the exhibition ‘Microcars’ until August 2022, which features the small cars produced after the end of World War 2 and includes more contemporary small vehicles responding to the reality of climate change.
It’s a big ask, possibly beyond the strategic vision of the Summernats organisers. However, if the creative component of the event was to make the most of the strands of popular culture that everyone without exception engages with – like music and photography – the whole event could be broader and more interesting and involve many more people than it does. This need not necessarily be on location at the physical event itself. It could become a key element of contemporary Australian popular culture, part of the creativity and culture that will increasingly define Australia in the local and global world.
© Stephen Cassidy 2022
See also
Updates on creativity and culture an email away
‘After many
decades working across the Australian cultural sector, I have been
regularly posting to my suite of blogs about creativity and culture,
ever since I first set them up over 10 years ago. You can follow any of
the blogs through email updates, which are sent from time to time. If
you don’t already follow my blogs and you want to take advantage of this
service, you can simply add your email address to the blog page, and
then confirm that you want to receive updates when you receive the
follow up email. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any of my
updates, simply select the blogs you are interested in and set up the
update by adding your email’, Updates on creativity and culture an email away.
‘indefinite article’ on Facebook – short arts updates and commentary
‘Short arts updates and irreverent cultural commentary about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age’, 'indefinite article' on Facebook.
‘Short arts updates and irreverent cultural commentary about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age’, 'indefinite article' on Facebook.
An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future
‘My
blog “indefinite article” is irreverent writing about contemporary
Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the
digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of
the information age. Over the last ten years I have published 166
articles about creativity and culture on the blog. This is a list of all
the articles I have published there, broken down into categories, with a
brief summary of each article. They range from the national cultural
landscape to popular culture, from artists and arts organisations to
cultural institutions, cultural policy and arts funding, the cultural
economy and creative industries, First Nations culture, cultural
diversity, cities and regions, Australia society, government, Canberra
and international issues – the whole range of contemporary Australian
creativity and culture’, An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future.
Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent
‘As
the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of
touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the
world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to
travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money
while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global
world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast,
increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas
because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational
companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying
to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be
somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for
Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will
be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do
before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had
trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula
One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being
an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather
that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing
boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing
countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the
one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
Creative and cultural futures – understanding the creative and cultural economy
Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans
‘In many ways design is a central part of the vocabulary of our time and integrally related to so many powerful social and economic forces – creative industries, popular culture, the digital transformation of society. Design is often misunderstood or overlooked and it's universal vocabulary and pervasive nature is not widely understood, especially by government. In a rapidly changing world, there is a constant tussle between the local and the national (not to mention the international). This all comes together in the vision for the future that is Design Canberra, a celebration of all things design, with preparations well underway for a month long festival this year. The ultimate vision of Craft ACT for Canberra is to add another major annual event to Floriade, Enlighten and the Multicultural Festival, filling a gap between them and complementing them all’, Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
Design for policy innovation – from the world of design to designing the world
‘Design and the language of design is very broad – much broader than
architecture or industrial or graphic design – the forms we are most
conscious of. Design is also very much about processes and the
development of concepts across almost all areas of human activity. This
means it also has a high relevance to the development of policy to solve
pressing social challenges, moving beyond the world of design to
embrace the design of the world. In a highlight of DESIGN Canberra this
year, respected Dutch presenter Ingrid Van der Wacht led discussion
about the relevance of design to innovative policy – from local, highly
specific policy to grand strategic policy designed to change whole
regions and even nations’, Design for policy innovation – from the world of design to designing the world.
The clever business of creativity: the experience of supporting Australia's industries of the future
‘The swan song of the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, ‘Creative Business in Australia’, outlines the experience of five years supporting Australia’s creative industries. Case studies and wide-ranging analysis explain the critical importance of these industries to Australia’s future. The knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape, is both clever and clean. Where the creative industries differ completely from other knowledge economy sectors is that, because they are based on content, they draw on, intersect with and contribute to Australia’s national and local culture’, The clever business of creativity: the experience of supporting Australia's industries of the future.
‘Survival in the creative sector in a post-COVID world will require
enhanced literacy in the opportunities of the new industries of the
future, the clean and clever knowledge economy which is altering our
world on a daily basis. Now a new short course delivered completely
online in the new digital universe we are all increasingly inhabiting
will look closely at the creative and cultural economy and the broader
impacts of creativity and culture, both economic and social. It will
outline the role of the creative sector in managing meaning and explain
how telling Australian stories puts us on the international stage in an
increasingly globalised world’, Creative and cultural futures – understanding the creative and cultural economy.
Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans
‘In many ways design is a central part of the vocabulary of our time and integrally related to so many powerful social and economic forces – creative industries, popular culture, the digital transformation of society. Design is often misunderstood or overlooked and it's universal vocabulary and pervasive nature is not widely understood, especially by government. In a rapidly changing world, there is a constant tussle between the local and the national (not to mention the international). This all comes together in the vision for the future that is Design Canberra, a celebration of all things design, with preparations well underway for a month long festival this year. The ultimate vision of Craft ACT for Canberra is to add another major annual event to Floriade, Enlighten and the Multicultural Festival, filling a gap between them and complementing them all’, Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
Design for policy innovation – from the world of design to designing the world
The clever business of creativity: the experience of supporting Australia's industries of the future
‘The swan song of the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, ‘Creative Business in Australia’, outlines the experience of five years supporting Australia’s creative industries. Case studies and wide-ranging analysis explain the critical importance of these industries to Australia’s future. The knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape, is both clever and clean. Where the creative industries differ completely from other knowledge economy sectors is that, because they are based on content, they draw on, intersect with and contribute to Australia’s national and local culture’, The clever business of creativity: the experience of supporting Australia's industries of the future.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
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