Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou . . . From everyone working behind the scenes at The Big Idea, we wish you and your creative projects the very best . . . Nga mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou - Season's Greetings for Christmas and the New Year.

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It’s been a year of belt-tightening and many other challenges for some in the creative sector this year. But our strength is the ability to be creative and nimble, attributes we should treasure. We wish you and those in your life the very best for an inspiring and fulfilling 2011.

2011 will be a big year for The Big Idea as we celebrate the tenth birthday of our unique online creative community - we look forward to sharing this with YOU.

A message from The Big Idea Trust

The Big Idea team not only delivers the website but also other projects in the creative sector to help fund The Big Idea. Here are some of the highlights from 2010.

•    The Big Room  - The inaugural Digital Artist Residency with Luke Munn, a partnership between CoLab and The Big Idea, brought together collected live/work spaces from around the world.

•    Connections - On behalf of Auckland Council, we are developing an online space for people and organizations working in communities in cultural development projects. 

•    smART talk  - We presented the third interactive online forum, a partnership with Creative New Zealand to support audience and market development, on Philanthropy: Getting Enough? with special guest Margaret Belich.

•    We worked with Going West Books and Writers Festival, Creative Northland and Toi Waitakere to develop their online presence.

•    In conjunction with Arts Regional Trust we delivered:

Generator - An online space where people can create their own self-led personal and business development.

Survive & Thrive - 'Fuelling the Business of Creativity' was the theme for the second public forum, expo and series of workshops for people working in the creative sector, held at the University of Auckland Business School.

ART Venture 2010 - The third business acceleration programme for creative entrepreneurs working in the Auckland region

The Big Idea also commissioned a series of issues-based articles for the arts and creative sectors. We would like to do more smART reporting in 2011, you can help and Givealittle here.

2011

We’re looking forward to some relaxation too, so our first Navigator Bulletin for 2011 will be Thursday, January 20.

During the holidays, we’ll still be checking emails and overseeing the site.

Continue to send in your news stories and we’ll run them in the New Year and of course keep doing what you do on The Big Idea - and you could feature on Found Inside on the homepage. Here’s a guide to being found.  

If you’re new to the site, read this article for some tips to get started.

One final thought for everyone - "We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing." — Unknown. Thanks Philip Patston for the reminder.

Take care and enjoy the sunshine . . . The team @ The Big Idea