Arts Industry Council of South Australia launches 40 year cultural policy

In anticipation of a State election next year, the Arts Industry Council of South Australia (AICSA) this week released a creative blueprint for the South Australia’s arts and cultural sectors.

A significant development in a State which has not had a formal arts policy since the 1990s, Creative South Australia: A Vision for the Arts has grown out of discussions with the South Australian arts community which the AICSA initiated in November 2015.

The document is designed to ensure a holistic approach to the arts, so that the legacy left for future generations of South Australian artists is as robust as that inherited by current generations from the work of cultural leaders active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Introducing the policy, AICSA Chair Gail Kovatseff stated “any strategy and planning for the arts must look at the whole ecology, from arts training, to supporting artists and organisations, to audience development and ongoing support of SA’s expanding festival calendar.

“With the current focus on renewing infrastructure, the vision is viewed as a complement to the SA Government’s current plans.”

AICSA Executive Officer Julianne Pierce adds that Creative South Australia has been launched at a time when there is no overarching arts and culture policy or vision in place in South Australia, advising “other states across Australia have arts and culture strategies and policy which provide long term planning and vision for the arts: such as Create in NSW: NSW Arts and Cultural Policy Framework and Creative State Victoria.

“South Australia has been without such a strategy for many years, with the last comprehensive strategy - South Australia. Arts and Cultural Development Task Force - being released by then Minister for the Arts Diana Laidlaw in 1994.”

The wide-ranging document looks beyond the arts sector alone, to ensure that cultural activity is recognised and celebrated across all areas of activity in the state, including education, advising “we see a long-term vision for the city and the state that has, at its heart, a collaborative nexus between education and the arts.

“It’s a vision of South Australia as a magnet for artists, students and intellectual capital; a home for creative industries; and a leader in cutting-edge creative knowledge sources, with a reputation for valuing the contribution of the arts to education and embedding them across the community.”

The authors of Creative South Australia: A Vision for the Arts have urged government, the public service and other policy-makers to carefully consider and enact their recommendations.

In addition to the release of Creative South Australia, the AICSA is actively advocating for the interests of independent artists and the small to medium sector in South Australia, through an election and formal Treasury bid strategy.

Click here to view Creative South Australia: A Vision for the Arts. 

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