Using creative practices to change the perceptions of architectural making

Abstract

The presentation surface questions on how creative works can give a more representational account of local spaces by capturing the voices of local makers of the city. I argue the importance of positioning citizens as experts in the world they have created and finding ways to tell the stories of local knowledge more authentically. The award-winning “Macassar Who We Are” exhibition held 2018 in Macassar explores creative writing, photography, and making as a creative placemaking exercise that highlights the contributions of local makers as a way to set into motion a sustainable community participatory project through which a contemporary cultural place can imagine collectively. The exhibition helps to show how the role of the citizen expands…, no longer a mere bystander or spectator of his or her environment, but one who actively participates in restoring, shaping, and building his or her city.