Artist Stories
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Creativity Connects Us
The Australia Council has announced its new vision for a creatively connected Australia where creative enterprise is entrenched across society, industry and government as the fuel that ignites our social, cultural and economic success.
WHAT WE DO
We are a diverse community of identities, faiths, individual differences and pursuits, yet we have many shared values and our sense of nation is strong.
A culturally ambitious nation draws strength from these diversities. It utilises them to expand the dimensions of our creativity. A culturally ambitious nation acknowledges that music, books, theatre, film, paintings, sculpture, dance and a myriad of other art forms are central to our lives. It cherishes its great artists from all regions, and across all practices.
We take great pride in our artists’ achievements – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. In a culturally ambitious nation Australians demand opportunities to gain access to and participate in the arts, be it as consumers or creators.
Creativity starts with childhood curiosity. It continues through our lives. A culturally ambitious nation embraces the arts in everyday life – at home, in kindergartens, schools and universities, in shopping centres and office blocks, at sporting venues, in the media. We want to be a nation where artistic enterprise and respect for culture are entrenched.
In Australia, we expect and anticipate that our artists will exercise our freedom of expression and be fearless, take risks, and develop and present inspiring work across national and international borders. A culturally ambitious nation is confident and constantly striving.
At the Australia Council, artists are our heroes. In our culturally ambitious nation, they take their places amongst the nation’s heroes.
Sam Walsh AO, Chair Adrian Collette AM, CEO
Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body.
Creativity Connects Us: Corporate Plan (2019-23)
Creativity is innate to humanity and is the wellspring of culture. We are all connected through arts and creativity.
Our arts are vital expressions of human experience. They embody individual and collective stories, histories, identities and help us understand what it means to be human. They connect us to our past and imagine our future.
Our First Nations cultures connect us to over 75,000 years of living culture and knowledge and the country on which we live.
The shared stories of millions of diverse peoples who now call Australia home promote mutual understanding and respect and connect us to a global community.The technologies of the fourth industrial revolution are transforming and disrupting industries, economies, and how we interact with our world and each other. In this digital world connectivity and creativity are more important than ever – to our wellbeing, our future growth and prosperity.
In a creatively connected nation, creative enterprise is entrenched across society, industry and government as the fuel that ignites our social, cultural and economic success.
Our strategic objectives
- Australians are transformed by arts and creativity: We will enable more opportunities for Australians to be captivated by, and inspired through,
experiencing the arts. - Our arts reflect us: We will support equity of opportunity and access in our creative expression, workforce,
leaders and audiences. - First Nations arts and culture are cherished: We will build on our long term commitment to First Nations arts and culture, recognising the importance of First Nations peoples’ self-determination, cultural authority and leadership to our collective prosperity.
- Arts and creativity are thriving: We will support the best circumstances for a thriving arts sector.
- Arts and creativity are valued: We will increase awareness of the value of public investment in arts and creativity.
Our strategic priorities for 2020–2024 respond to the rapidly changing landscape of Australian arts and creativity. They also build on the achievements of 'A Culturally Ambitious Nation'.
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