NAVA welcomes South Australia’s Cultural Policy, A Place To Create

The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) warmly welcomes the launch of A Place to Create: A 10-Year Cultural Policy for All South Australians, a whole-of-government commitment to strengthening the state’s arts, culture, and creative industries.

Backed by an $80 million investment–including $15 million for the Art Gallery of South Australia to deliver programs such as a new Winter Art Series–the policy reaffirms the value of artistic expression, creative innovation, and cultural leadership as central to South Australia’s identity, wellbeing, and economy. It supports a future where artists and creatives are empowered to shape public life, and all South Australians can access and participate in meaningful creative and cultural experiences.

The policy also includes more than $1 million to expand grants for arts organisations and to support the creation of new, original work by South Australian artists and creatives, and over $2.3 million to strengthen First Nations arts and culture across the state.

Significantly, A Place to Create is underpinned by the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Bill 2025, now open for public consultation. NAVA strongly supports the Bill’s intent to enshrine the value of the arts in legislation, ensuring future governments uphold their commitment to the sector.

“This is a welcome and encouraging step for the arts in South Australia,” said NAVA Executive Director Penelope Benton. By moving to enshrine the value of arts and culture in law, the Government is showing a clear commitment to the role creativity plays in public life. The Bill reflects a strong foundation supporting artistic freedom, recognising First Nations leadership, and valuing the social and economic impact of the arts. We encourage artists and organisations to engage with the consultation to help shape a fair and inclusive future for the sector.”

The draft Bill is grounded in strong principles, including recognition of Aboriginal people as South Australia’s First Peoples, the right to cultural participation and artistic freedom, the importance of nurturing young people’s creativity, and the vital role of innovation. It also affirms the social, economic, and wellbeing benefits of a vibrant arts sector. The Bill proposes mechanisms for strategic planning, community input, data collection, and environmental sustainability to support long-term sector growth.

While the policy and Bill provide a strong foundation and acknowledge key challenges, such as affordability pressures and the precarity of artists’ livelihoods, NAVA notes the absence of explicit commitments to artist payment policies in funded organisations or endorsement of the Code of Practice for the Visual Arts, Craft and Design. Similarly, there are no specific provisions for affordable housing or spaces for artists, First Nations-led workforce development, or arts-based health and wellbeing programs.

NAVA urges the South Australian Government to address these gaps as the policy is implemented and the Bill refined, ensuring artists are adequately paid, properly resourced, and supported with the infrastructure they need to thrive.

Public consultation on the draft Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Bill 2025 is open via YourSAy until Sunday 27 April 2025. NAVA encourages all South Australian artists, arts workers and organisations to share their views: yoursay.sa.gov.au/artsbill

Media Enquiries
Leya Reid
media@visualarts.net.au

About NAVA
The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) is a Membership organisation that brings together the many voices of the contemporary arts sector to improve fundamental conditions of work and practice. We do this through advocacy, education and the Code of Practice. For further information on NAVA visit www.visualarts.net.au