Community Partnerships

Urban Jungle_ICECommunity Partnerships supports community arts and cultural development practice through a range of programs and initiatives.

Community arts and cultural development (CACD) practice encompasses collaborations between professional artists and communities based on a desire to achieve innovative artistic and cultural development outcomes.

Community Partnerships focuses its support in a number of specific areas which include regional Australia, disability, young people, cultural diversity, emerging communities, Indigenous people, remote Indigenous communities, and specific critical social and cultural issues requiring focused attention. The Community Partnerships Committee has developed a set of Guiding Principles which outline the core elements of community arts and cultural development projects.

The Committee has pursued increased collaborations and partnerships with the artists and arts organisations from across other arts practice areas, that develop new ways of working through engaging community members as protagonists in the creation process.

Community Partnerships also has responsibility for delivering the Australia Council’s initiatives in the Arts and Education and in particular manages the Artists in Residence program through collaborations with the States and Territories. Read more

Image: Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE)

          Urban Jungle, 2008.

The Community Partnerships Committee would like to announce the support of a suite of new projects supported through its National Sector Development Initiative

 
The three proposals supported are: 

  • National Local Government Cultural Forum - this national forum will generate ideas and learn from the experiences of over 500 councils and provide a laboratory of CACD practice and test new ways of strengthening communities and improving health and wellbeing through the arts

  • The Digital Platform - to build an exceptional and unique national digital platform to showcase practice and support communications and collaboration in the CACD sector over the next decade. The new platform will be the centre piece of a national digital strategy - a blueprint designed to strengthen the online capacity of our sector - locally, nationally and internationally

  • The Alliance (working title) - the establishment of a cross-sector organisation for the Australian CACD sector that provides communication, collaboration and advocacy  
In addition to the above proposals, the Committee acknowledged that the area of leadership was highlighted by the sector, to this end they have commissioned the Group Incognito through their strategic investment funds to undertake a scoping study for the development of a leadership model to address this gap.
 
The Committee has funded the above proposals with the view that although they are individual projects they are funded as part of an overall holistic strategy. All funded initiatives are committed to working collaboratively in a spirit of respect, honesty and generosity – with each other and with respect to the diversity of our sector’s artists, practitioners, organisations and communities. 
 
At present Group Incognito are undertaking consultations regarding leadership in the community arts and cultural development sector. If you are interested in participating in these consultations please visit and register your interest at http://groupincognito.com.au 
 
For more information about the initiatives please call or email Lucy Mendelssohn on 02 9215 9025 or at l.mendelssohn@australiacouncil.gov.au. 
 
Along with the above, the Committee has also created two new categories as part of the Community Partnership 2013 funding program Structured Mentorships and Fellowships. Please visit our website for further information about these categories. 
 

hurriya_featureCreative Communities Case Studies

We have prepared a collection of case-studies of the projects developed under the Creative Communities Partnership Initiative.

You can view the case-studies by state - over 30 projects available.
Find out more

A DIGITAL DIVIDE? DIGITAL TOOLS IN CACD PRACTICE

Using digital media is increasingly popular in Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) practice.  But is the increasing use of digital media in itself an innovation? Where does the balance of technology skills and storytelling sit best for community? Is it different at all to long standing methods of collaboration in the CACD sector?

Whilst the proliferation of digital tools has in many ways democratised the means of making, has it changed the way the CACD artists engage and work with communities? Have emphases shifted? Is there a presumption of skills-building in using technology as a means to sharing stories, and how does this impact upon existing power relationships between community participants and facilitators? Have the central notions of ‘participation’, ‘engagement’ and ‘shared space’ been transformed through the use of these tools?

The Australia Council asked five artists/arts organisations to reflect on the use of digital media in their own practices. 

Here are their responses

Latest News and Projects

The Australia Council and the National Cultural Policy

New investment in Australian creativity

Rupert Myer AM, Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts has today welcomed the launch of the National Cultural Policy and response to the recommendations of the Australia Council review. Read more >

Sky’high live performance

Platform 5 Australian Hip Hop Symposium

YouTube Me Dance 2012 performers

Broome Dance Project

Image of Meme McDonald

Achievements in community arts celebrated

Pioneering community and cultural artist Meme McDonald will be awarded the prestigious Ros Bower Award, worth $50,000, for an outstanding, life-long contribution to community arts and cultural development.

View more news

Community Partnerships Committee members

  • Sam Mostyn, Chair (NSW), Non-executive director and sustainability adviser
  • Jeremy Smith, Deputy Chair (WA), Senior Advisor, Community Investment, Rio Tinto
  • Claudia Chidiac (NSW), Creative Producer, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
  • Marline Zaibak (VIC), Creative Spaces and Independent Creative Producer, City of Melbourne
  • Sally Marsden (TAS), Director, King Island Cultural Centre
  • Lorna Martin (NT), Manager of Operations Delivery, Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA)
  • Dr Jared Thomas (SA), Lecturer in Aboriginal Studies: Communication, University of South Australia
  • Kyl Murphy (QLD) State Director, Committee of Economic Development of Australia (CEDA)
Read more about our committee members

Available Grants

Show All

Grant Decisions

View all reports

Community Partnerships sector plan

Sector plan

Read about our involvement with the sector, current issues, short and medium term goals and priorities for the sector here.

Our team

Frank Panucci, Director
Email or call on (02) 9215 9006

David Sudmalis, Manager - Programs and Arts and Education
Email or call on (02) 9215 9038

Lucy Mendelssohn, Program Officer
Email or call on (02) 9215 9025

Melina Scarcella, Program Officer
Email or call on (02) 9215 9060

Thom Scire, Program Officer
Email or call on (02) 9215 9141

John Petersen, Program Manager
Email or call on (02) 9215 9177 

Erin McVeigh, Section Coordinator
Email or call on (02) 9215 9024

Janelle Bray, Administration Officer
Email or call on (02) 9215 9034

Digby Webster, Assistant Administration Officer

Useful links

Disseminate, DADAA Inc

The Fourth Pillar of Sustainability: culture’s essential role in public planning by Jon Hawkins

Art and Wellbeing by Deb Mills and Paul Brown

Culture, Difference and the Arts edited by Sneja Gunew and Fazal Rizvi

they shoot ferals don’t they: debates in community cultural development

Community Partnerships Scoping Study by Anne Dunn