Futures: Creative Sparks in Singleton
- Paul Egglestone
- Oct 21
- 2 min read
Not all innovation happens in big cities. Sometimes the most powerful ideas emerge in smaller towns, where the need for new ways of thinking is urgent — and the scale makes experimentation possible.
That’s what happened in Singleton, NSW, where FASTlab worked with community partners to stage four creative place-making projects. These were short-term, low-cost interventions — but their purpose was big: to spark conversations about how the town centre could be reimagined.
What we did
Each project offered a distinctive form of engagement:
Temporary installations designed to disrupt the everyday and invite curiosity.
Interactive spaces that encouraged locals to see familiar streets differently.
Community conversations embedded in the design, making people part of the process rather than just spectators
These weren’t about permanent monuments. They were about prototypes for possibility — invitations to residents to think about the future of their town.
Why it matters
Creativity as a catalyst: even small interventions can shift how people imagine their environment.
Short-term, long impact: while installations were temporary, they opened up long-term conversations about Singleton’s identity and growth.
Regional innovation: place-making isn’t just for metropolitan centres; rural towns deserve creative futures too.
Lessons learned
The Singleton projects showed that:
Start small — low-cost, temporary projects lower risk and encourage experimentation.
Engage early — involving locals from the beginning builds trust and ownership.
Prototype futures — sometimes the best way to imagine a new town centre is to try it out in miniature.
Why FASTlab cares
Singleton demonstrated the value of creative R+D in regional contexts. For us, it reinforced the idea that place-making isn’t just about design — it’s about sparking dialogue and opening futures.
📖 Read more in The Elephant’s Leg II: Creativity in Action: Open Access Link
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