Interfaith Childhoods

COMING SOON: Vital Arts - the book!

Polity/ Bristol University Press – Early 2026

Vital Arts is a bold and timely exploration of how art remakes the world. Arising from the internationally recognised Vital Arts research project and network, this book brings together artists, academics, and activists who work at the intersection of creativity, care, and social transformation.

At a moment when the arts are under pressure to justify their “impact,” Vital Arts shifts the conversation: it shows how art is already vital — to wellbeing, to ecological sustainability, to justice, and to the imagination of futures otherwise. Across case studies that range from community dance and performance with people with disability to Indigenous storytelling, digital activism, and climate art, contributors show how artistic practice is not a supplement to social life but its very pulse.

Written in an accessible and compelling style, Vital Arts bridges creative practice and critical thought. It is essential reading for anyone interested in how art can move beyond representation to become a living force for social and planetary flourishing.

Key features:
• Showcases groundbreaking collaborations between artists and researchers.
• Reframes “impact” as vitality, relation, and ethical engagement.
• Includes works that challenge disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
• Offers a manifesto for rethinking the role of the arts in education, health, and workplace training.

Vital Arts is a call to reimagine art’s role in making the world more liveable — one creative act at a time.
.rimi.khan

🌟✨News Flash!🌟✨

For the last 12 months we have been involved in detailed discussions about a number of ways forward for our micro-cred. We are delighted to announce that we’ve arrived at a point where we’re about to begin a co-design process, working towards having ‘proof of concept’ of a model by mid 2025.

Our cred will be awarded through an in-person workshop and will be co-produced with Clock Your Skills.

Clock Your Skills are a UK/EU based company that is building a significant presence in Australia. Clock’s vision is to ‘make invisible skills visible and valued’, cultivating a culture of recognition and appreciation for the diverse skills each individual brings to the table. Their mission is to: ‘elevate a globally diverse workforce by transcending traditional industry boundaries … empowering individuals, particularly those underserved by formal education, with a pathway to recognition and accredited qualifications.’ Clock have worked with Creative Victoria, Big Sound and RMIT on recognising creative skills.

We are excited to be working with a company that is philosophically aligned with our project, and with the frameworks to build our micro-cred badges and curriculum. This next stage of the work will depend on our industry partners’ involvement and feedback in a co-design process. In the meantime, if you have any questions or would like to talk more about these project updates please do reach out to us.

We are committed to creating a micro-cred model that signals the skills learned through participation in youth arts and that will provide a wider contribution to the sector over time. Creative Australia Deakin University RMIT University THE PUSH

Great to see this work building pathways to employment

The Power of Performing Arts: Cultivating 21st Century Skills in Young People — Vital Arts: Home I grew up in theatres, painting scenes on floors, sewing costumes, rehearsing cues. At the time, I felt that I was eccentric, but retrospectively I realise how much I learnt during these long hours of unpaid labour. In an era where the rapid pace of technological advancement and globalisation demand

Are you a teacher or educator? Join Anna Catherine Hickey-Moody as she presents "Children as Artists" - a Heide Museum of Modern Art Professional Learning Program.

In this exciting program, Anna will discuss the important role that children’s art has played in influencing Western Artists such as Picasso, Klee, Po***ck and Miro and will further explore this notion within the Australian Modernist works on display at Heide. Anna will offer new ways to understand and read artworks through the lens of children’s and outsider art

Anna will share lesson plans which can be adapted for Primary or Secondary curriculum covering a range of media, along with an “impact map” which has been developed to guide the successful delivery of these plans.

Find out more and stay in the loop by signing up to Heide's Learning e-newsletter here:
https://www.heide.com.au/learning/professional-learning

We are delighted to launch our Illuminate Adelaide exhibition, ‘Being different together’ at the Migration Museum. The exhibition is free and runs until August 1st. Come along to see children’s stories of identity, belonging, community, religion and faith.

The team meeting the mayor of Adelaide at the launch of