New Australia Council research shows that art is relied upon by millions of Australians
Image: TOY by All the Queens Men. Photo by Ben Vos Productions, courtesy of Australia Council for the Arts.
Image: TOY by All the Queens Men. Photo by Ben Vos Productions, courtesy of Australia Council for the Arts.
Arts and culture are central to all of our lives and play a crucial role in driving a successful economic crisis recovery. New research from the Australia Council for the Arts shows a deepening appreciation of the value of arts and creativity in almost every aspect of our lives, from education and mental health, to strengthening tourism and local economies.
Released today, Creating Our Future: results of the National Arts Participation Survey is the fourth and last report in a decade-long series that examines Australians’ engagement with, and attitudes towards the arts. The online survey was conducted in late 2019, not long before Australia’s cultural life was significantly impacted by the bushfires and COVID-19. The last report was tabled in 2016.
The findings come at an important time for a sector desperate for a full recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Not to mention in the wake of ABC funding cuts, skyrocketing costs of humanities university education, and the ongoing efficiency dividend impacts on our national cultural institutions – to name just a fraction of the devastating blows to the arts.
The commitments made to date by the Australian Government of a $250m rescue package for the arts is a welcome start alongside JobKeeper. However, the package addresses only some of the art forms within the industry and is focused on the creation and touring of new work, rather than supporting artists and the industry to recover and thrive through the crisis.
The Australia Council report provides important insights into Australia’s engagement with the arts prior to the pandemic – with almost every Australian (98% of us) engaging in the arts in some way – and makes a strong case for an ambitious national vision that invests in arts and culture comprehensively, with 63% of Australians believing that arts and culture should be financially supported.
This responds to consistent calls from NAVA and the sector to invest in creative education, arts tourism, the creative industry across all artforms and scales, and creative workers no matter where or how they are employed.
For further analysis of COVID-19 and policy priorities, see NAVA’s submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Australian Government’s COVID19 Response.