Art & culture stories - September 2011

Launch of National Cultural Policy discussion paper

Many of you will have seen the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy discussion paper which was launched by Arts Minister Simon Crean recently.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of arts and creative industries to Australia’s social and economic future. However, the Government is also keen to ensure that government funding and support equips the arts sector to take advantage of emerging trends and opportunities.

I encourage you, your colleagues, your friends and family to contribute to the development of the National Cultural Policy. Feedback on the discussion paper is being sought from individuals, organisations and government in both metropolitan and regional areas to ensure that the Policy reflects the interests and aspirations of all Australians.

You don’t have to work in the arts to have a say about how the arts makes a difference to you and your community. I look forward to seeing your suggestions over the coming months.

If you haven’t yet had the chance to make a submission or complete and online survey, you can do so at culture.arts.gov.au

Sally Basser
First Assistant Secretary
Office for the Arts

Snapshot of Australia’s arts and cultural industries in the 21st century

Our creative industries are worth more than $30 billion in terms of industry gross product.
More than 80 per cent of Australian adults attended at least one cultural event or performance in 2009-10.
Approximately 285,000 people are employed in cultural occupations such as writing, performing arts and design.
Over 200 000 people provide more than 30 million hours of volunteer work for arts and heritage organisations each year.
Total production activity in Australia for feature films and television drama is valued at $731 million each year.
Australia’s interactive games and entertainment industry sales are forecast to surge to $2.5 billion by 2014.

Diary

World Arts and Culture Summit - 3 to 6 October
National Cultural Policy discussion paper consultation - ends 21 October

In this issue

Touring Australia's national collections

International delegates at the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will get an insight into how art is providing a medium Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to share their stories and portray historical events through their eyes.

The National Museum of Australia’s highly acclaimed exhibition Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route, will travel to Perth in October to feature during the Meeting. This groundbreaking exhibition reveals the richness of desert life today. It tells the story of the Canning Stock Route's impact on Aboriginal people through the works of senior and emerging artists.

Bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains back home

It is not widely known, even within some Indigenous communities, that vast collections of ancestral remains and secret sacred objects are currently held in overseas museums.

It is understood around 900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains are held in overseas collections, mostly in the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, France and the United States. In the past these items were collected as items of curiosity and for the purposes of scientific study.

Kool N Deadly goes digital

Melbourne’s only Indigenous owned and managed radio broadcaster has gone digital.

Early in 2011, 3KND Digital was launched, along with eight other major metropolitan community radio stations. The switch to digital took place after almost two years work by the Digital Radio Group and will provide listeners with better access and a broader range of programming.

Ancient artefacts returned to Cambodia

As part of the Australian Government’s commitment to combating the illegal trade of cultural property, a collection of Iron Age artefacts stolen from graves in Cambodia and imported illegally into Australia have been returned home.

Artbank collection to move online

Artbank is the Australian Government’s art rental collection and the largest buyer of contemporary Australian art in the country. Established in 1980 by the Australian Government as an arts support program, Artbank promotes Australian culture and art by making the collection available for rent by individuals or organisations.

Dingo still cool twenty years on

Earlier this year, Australian audiences were given the rare opportunity to experience a classic Australian film when a brand new print of the 1991 film Dingo was presented at the 2011 Sydney Film Festival by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA).

Dingo is set in the late ‘60s, in an Australian outback town. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and starred Colin Friels and Miles Davis in his only feature film role.