Creative State

2019 Community Engagement Outcomes Report

Contents

Overview 2

Background 2

How we engaged Error! Bookmark not defined.

Who we reached 3

Key findings 3

Online engagement 5

Ideas Wall 5

Discussion themes 6

Formal submissions 7

Face-to-face engagement 8

First Peoples’ forums 8

Public forums 9

Next steps 10

Appendix 11

List of written submissions to engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy 11

Overview

Background The 2019 Community Engagement Outcomes Report records the extensive community and sector consultation undertaken by the Victorian Government (through Creative Victoria) to inform its next creative industries strategy – Creative State.

It is a requirement of the Creative Victoria Act 2017 that the Minister for Creative Industries prepares a strategy for the arts and creative industries every four years. From July to September 2019, Creative Victoria engaged people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives to inform the development of the next four-year strategy. This included garnering views on the current state of the sector, its challenges, opportunities and aspirations; as well as new ideas for strengthening the state’s creative industries. How we engaged

Creative Victoria engaged stakeholders through both online and face-to-face channels. All Victorians – whatever their connection to the creative industries – were invited to participate online via the engage.vic.gov.au platform and/or participate in a public forum. Dedicated forums were also held for First Peoples in the creative industries.

A Creative Industries Advisory Group, comprising 20 members from across the state’s creative and cultural sectors, provided guidance throughout the consultation process. Online Online engagement was open to the public from 10 July to 13 September 2019. The site provided:

• information about Victoria’s creative industries • guiding principles • a timeline for strategy renewal • a calendar of public forums • options for public submissions

Participants were invited to contribute their insights and ideas on issues, challenges and opportunities for Victoria’s creative industries. Participants could:

• post a quick idea, insight or provocation via an ‘ideas wall’ • respond to one, some or all of nine themes relevant to the creative industries • upload a formal submission • participate in a consultation workshop

• host their own workshop (Creative Victoria provided supporting resources on its website and invited participation from 28 peak bodies, 29 youth organisations, nine portfolio agencies and each of its funded organisations). Face-to-face Face-to-face engagements were held across Victoria during July and August 2019 – including six First Peoples forums and nine, facilitated, public forums.

First Peoples Public

Mildura, 1 August Wangaratta, 25 July Melbourne, 12 August Mildura, 29 July Shepparton, 15 August Bendigo, 31 July Portland, 19 August Footscray, 5 August Mornington Peninsula, 22 August Melbourne, 6 August Lakes Entrance, 27 August Frankston, 8 August Sale, 13 August South Morang, 15 August Warrnambool, 20 August

Who we reached

Online Total visits to engage.vic.gov.au: 12,165 Consultation followers: 278 Contributions: 865 (from 575 people) • 599 notes on the ‘Ideas Wall’ • 64 conversations • 202 formal submissions Face-to-face 48 people attended one of six First Peoples sessions 250 people attended one of nine public sessions Key findings The collective response was outstanding: from the volume of online engagements and written submissions to the quality of feedback at public forums. There is a high level of interest and investment across Victoria in the future of the state’s creative industries.

Across online and face-to-face engagements, the following themes emerged frequently as either high-level challenges and issues for the sector and community, or as priority areas for new or renewed action:

Total

People and skills • Supporting creative careers and stronger career paths • Addressing skills gaps and practitioner capability • Improving workforce experience Ideas and Innovation • Producing new work • Encouraging new ways of working • Encouraging risk and innovation Resilience and growth • Attracting investment • Investing in creative precincts and spaces • Promoting business development (from start-ups to established) • Supporting organisations Audiences and markets • Supporting community engagement • Delivering major and other events • Promoting global engagement and trade • Applying creative services and products • Supporting regional content development • Embedding creativity, and promoting its value, across the whole of society • Increasing demand for creative outputs

There was also broad recognition and support for a set of high-level principles to guide government investment in the sector. These principles include support for:

• First Peoples’ perspectives, experiences, expertise and self-determination • Equity of access and participation for all Victorians • Healthy, respectful and culturally-safe working environments • Ensuring people in remote, regional and outer-metropolitan areas have equitable access to cultural experiences, creative expression and creative careers • The promotion of responsible environmental practice.

Online engagement

Online engagement was open to the public from 10 July to 13 September 2019 at engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy. The site attracted a high-level of engagement, including:

• 7,082 people visited the site 12,165 times • 575 people made 865 contributions • 275 people signed-up to email notifications.

Activity at engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy, 10 July – 13 September 2019

Visitors to the site were able to provide their feedback in at least one of three ways: via an ‘Ideas Wall’; by responding to a discussion theme; or by lodging a formal submission. Ideas Wall Contributors to the Ideas Wall were asked to nominate a screen name and their postcode, before entering any open comment. Those comments – 599 in total – were then published to the site and post-moderated.

Site visitors were able to endorse any comment via a ‘thumbs up’ function: 3,738 ‘up-votes’ were registered. Among the most popular posts were ideas to:

• Revitalise or re-purpose vacant or under-utilised public spaces for use by creative practitioners • Better and more-widely value and profile the arts (on par, for example, with sport) • Further support and promote independent creative practitioners and small-to-medium creative enterprises • Help independent creative practitioners and small-to-medium creative enterprises provide best-practice accessibility to their respective works, websites, events, publications, etc

In total, contributions to the Ideas Wall covered a vast range of subjects and concerns: from greater and more novel forms of direct support for those working in the sector; to ideas on how to foster a more valued and resilient sector; to thoughts on growing sector profiles, audiences and markets.

“Creative workers should be safe at work – emotionally and physically. Too many of us don’t feel we are. What can we do to keep us all safe?” Contributor to the engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy ‘Ideas Wall’, 2019 Discussion themes Visitors to the online site were invited to respond to one, some or all of nine themes and provocations. Participants were asked to register their screen name. Contributions were published and post-moderated.

The nine discussion themes were:

• Creative spaces and precincts • Diversity at all levels • Equality of access • The next generation • Building sustainability • Safety and wellbeing • Technology and its impact • Engaging globally • Growing audiences and markets

Inevitably, some themes resonated more than others with participants and attracted a higher or more detailed level of response.

Contributors, for example, to the ‘Creative Spaces and Precincts’ theme pointed to the need for state government, councils and other local entities to further support the creative sector and its practitioners by unlocking vacant or under- utilised spaces. This included allowing the use of empty shop fronts to showcase creative works; subsidising studio spaces (especially in regional Victoria); and new legislative frameworks to encourage the creation of new or repurposed spaces for creative use. Contributors also asked for greater (and more effective) promotion of the resources and spaces that support local creatives.

Contributors to the ‘Diversity at all levels’ theme sought – or provided – further understanding of the meaning and scope of ‘diversity’, as well as its application and relevance to the sector generally and to creative practitioners and audiences in particular. This included promoting and mapping diversity levels among both creative practitioners and audiences, as well as financial support to help reduce barriers to participation. Contributors called for greater recognition of First Peoples creative practice and noted the benefits to be gained from higher interactions between all generations.

Across all themes, contributors (in their own way) sought a series of recurring outcomes for the sector: greater support (and profile) for individual creative practitioners and small-to-medium creative enterprises; and the wider application of creativity to all sorts of social challenges and opportunities. Formal submissions There were 202 formal submissions via the online site. This included submissions from:

• 43 individuals (or submitted as a group of individuals under one name) • 20 councils • 76 arts organisations (or groups of organisations submitting under a single name) • 4 government agencies • 22 not-for-profits • 37 ‘other’ (peak bodies and universities)

Contributors were able to upload their submission as either a Word or PDF document. Contributors were required to provide their name and email address; they could, however, elect to keep the content of their submission confidential. The full list of submissions is provided in the Appendix.

Submission content varied considerably, reflecting the breadth of organisations, professions and practice covered by the creative industries portfolio. However, a number of recurrent themes did emerge across the collective submissions, including:

• Recognition of under-represented industries within the sector through dedicated programs • Calls for professional and business development, mentoring and training opportunities for individuals and organisations • Calls for alternative funding models to support the ongoing viability of organisations and individual practice • Desire for more knowledge and resources to engage with export and tourism markets • Calls for further development of key creative hubs and precincts • Promotion of quality cultural and creative content in the school curriculum • Need for (further) initiatives that address physical safety, mental health and/or discrimination issues across the sector

• Access to affordable creative spaces for practice, performance and exhibition of work • Stronger networks and partnerships across the sector • The ongoing need to address diversity issues within creative and cultural organisations.

“Better coordination of resources between and across arts service providers – share resources, plan collaboratively, learn lessons.”

Contributor to the engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy ‘Ideas Wall’, 2019 Face-to-face engagement

First Peoples’ forums Six dedicated First Peoples’ forums were held across Victoria during August 2019, including: one Melbourne CBD forum; and five regional forums (Mildura, Shepparton, Mornington, Portland and Lakes Entrance).

The forums were held to ensure the inclusion of First Peoples’ voices in the next creative industry strategy. Building on the First People’s Action Plan for the Creative Industries 2018-2020, it is critical that the next strategy champion the aspirations and self-determination of Victoria’s First Peoples.

Forums were designed to allow a culturally-safe space to discuss opportunities and challenges specific to First Peoples creative industries communities. Facilitated conversations around current needs and future aspirations were recorded by Creative Victoria.

While conversations varied from location to location, and were to some extent dependent on local needs and challenges, several key areas of concern, interest or opportunity emerged, including:

• First People’s self-determination should be pursued as a priority with a strengthened focus on cultural practice and community-led decision making • There is significant need for dedicated First Peoples cultural spaces across different regions and countries to enable creative practice, cultural ceremonies and cultural exchange and sharing • Support for education and professional development is needed to ensure young First Peoples practitioners, particularly in remote and regional communities, can benefit from educational, networking and professional development opportunities • Maximising the visibility of opportunities through First Peoples’ programs is critical to ensure engagement and equality of access across all Victorian communities • Cultural connection, engagement and exchange (including across generations) is vital to the continuity of culture, community and creative practice

• More work is needed to embed First Peoples culture and protocols in the broader Victorian community and to value cultural practice and space beyond its commercial value • There is more scope for greater First Peoples representation in administrative and management positions within creative and cultural organisations (and a corresponding need for related skills and capacity building for First Peoples) • There are opportunities to foster further cultural exchange between metropolitan and regional areas, as well as encouraging international awareness of First Peoples artistic practice • Greater recognition and promotion of the distinct and diverse First Peoples art and culture of South-East Australia is needed to ensure this artistic practice is showcased and represented in galleries and art fairs throughout Victoria and across Australia.

“Funding to reach people who have traditionally been left out of the conversation. Funding structures and policy making need to be transparent.”

Contributor to the engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy ‘Ideas Wall’, 2019 Public forums Nine facilitated, two-hour public forums were held across Victoria during July and August 2019, including: one CBD forum; three outer-metro forums; and five regional forums.

The forums were designed to allow participants to make their respective contributions in an open and supported fashion. Participants were encouraged to raise and discuss tough or controversial issues.

In the first half of each forum, participants were encouraged to raise issues and challenges they currently face – be it in their region, their sector, their organisation or practice.

In the second half, participants were invited to take a four-to-five year, whole-of- sector, whole-of-state view: to offer their insights and ideas for the creative industries as-a-whole.

In this way, the forums offered people a real chance to contribute ideas, insights, expertise and experience. It helped also to build trust in – and understanding of – the strategy development process.

At each stage in the design, promotion and delivery of the public forums, Creative Victoria first consulted with representatives from First Peoples, culturally diverse, disability and youth communities to ensure the forums were both accessible and inclusive.

The following areas of concern, interest or opportunity were raised frequently cross the public forums:

• Greater recognition of First Peoples art, culture and creativity • Requests for greater government funding

• Support for regional content development • Recognition and support for cultural tourism assets and potential • More avenues for creatives to secure finance, revenue, sustainability • Need for safer workplaces and greater wellbeing • Requests for business skills development • Desire to embed creativity, and promote its value, across the whole of society • Greater focus on research and development, experimentation, intellectual property protections • Increased participation, accessibility, inclusion • More residencies, placements, mentorships • Clearer career pathways • Strategies to increase demand for creative outputs • Greater sector advocacy and information dissemination • More creativity in schools and for youth • Value partnerships and collaboration • More and better creative spaces, venues, infrastructure

“Support cultural tourism projects that bring visitors to regional Victoria and support local creatives.”

Contributor to the engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy ‘Ideas Wall’, 2019 COVID-19 impact and next steps

Following the completion of the 2019 consultation process, significant work was undertaken on the development of the strategy in late 2019 and early 2020. By March 2020, as the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit Victoria, the strategy was being finalised.

Due to the pandemic, and the resulting shutdown of much of the state’s creative and cultural sector, work on the strategy was paused while Creative Victoria and the Victorian Government focused on addressing the acute and immediate needs of the sector.

In October 2020, the strategy development process re-commenced with further sector consultation to build on the insights gained in 2019 and to capture the impacts of COVID-19.

The Victorian Government’s creative industries strategy 2021-25 will be launched in the first half of 2021.

Appendix List of written submissions to engage.vic.gov.au/creative-strategy 1. Abbotsford Convent Foundation 2. ACT Natimuk 3. ade ishs Music 4. APHIDS 5. APILI (Philip Minchin) 6. APRA AMCOS 7. Arena Theatre Company 8. Artery Co-operative Ltd 9. Arts & Health Gippsland 10. Arts Assist 11. Arts Centre Melbourne 12. Arts West 13. Arts/Cultural Leaders 14. Artsready 15. Ashmore Arts 16. Association of Artist Managers Australia (AAM) 17. Ausdance Victoria 18. Ausfilm 19. Australian Art Orchestra 20. Australian Arts Organisation 21. Australian Children's Television Foundation 22. Australian Fashion Council 23. Australian Jazz Museum 24. Australian Jazz Museum (individuals) 25. Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria (AMaGA Victoria) 26. Back to Back Theatre 27. Ballarat Jazz Club Inc. 28. Barking Spider Visual Theatre 29. Brimbank City Council 30. Burrinja Dandenong Ranges Cultural Centre 31. Castlemaine State Festival 32. Central Goldfields Shire Council 33. Chamber Made 34. Chelsea Wilson 35. Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) 36. Christine Mintrom 37. Chunky Move 38. Cinespace Inc. 39. City of Ballarat 40. CITY OF DAREBIN 41. City of Greater Bendigo

42. City of Greater Geelong 43. City of Melbourne 44. City of Port Phillip 45. Committee for Melbourne 46. Community Music Victoria 47. Community Music Victoria (second) 48. Creatrix Tiara 49. Crystal Stubbs (Individual) 50. Cultural Development Network 51. Cultural Infusion 52. Cultural Infusion (John Garzoli) 53. Culture24 54. Dance Massive 55. David Moloney 56. Deakin University 57. Description Victoria Inc. 58. Design Business Council 59. Diversity Arts (DARTS) 60. Diversity Arts Orgs 61. East Gippsland Art Gallery (Crystal Stubbs) 62. East Gippsland Art Gallery (Crystal Stubbs) 63. ELISION 64. Ethical Clothing Australia 65. Event Pty Ltd (Simon Thewlis) 66. Festival of Small Halls 67. Flying Fruit Fly Foundation 68. Footscray Community Arts Centre 69. Footscray Community Arts Centre (Group) 70. Game Developers Association of Australia 71. Garth Midgley 72. Gasworks Arts Park 73. Gavin Franklin (Port Fairy Jazz Festival) Geelong Arts Centre, in collaboration with G21 Regional Alliance and Committee for 74. Geelong 75. Gideon Brazil 76. Goulburn and North East Arts Alliance (GANEAA) 77. Green Music Australia 78. Gwendolynne 79. Heidelberg School Art Foundation 80. History Council of Victoria 81. HotHouse Theatre 82. Interactive Games and Entertainment Assoc. Joint Submission: The Wheeler Centre, Writers Victoria, Melbourne Writers Festival, 83. Emerging Writers Festival, Australian Poetry, Small Press Network & Express Media

84. Jumpleads NFP 85. Kape Communications Pty Ltd 86. Kathleen McLennen 87. Kathy Ellem Fine Art 88. Kim Tarpey 89. Lauren Bok 90. Left Bank Co 91. Littlefoot & Company 92. Live Music Office 93. Live Nation 94. Live Performance Australia 95. Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre 96. Lucy Guerin Inc 97. Lynette Smith 98. Malthouse Theatre 99. Manningham Council 100. Margaret Mayhew 101. Maribyrnong City Council 102. Maroondah City Council 103. Melbourne Arts Precinct 104. Melbourne Chamber Orchestra 105. Melbourne Fashion Festival 106. Melbourne Fringe 107. Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) 108. Melbourne Jazz Co-operative 109. Melbourne Recital Centre 110. Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 111. Melbourne Theatre Company 112. Melbourne Women's International Jazz Festival 113. Melton City Council 114. Michael Elliot Shuttleworth 115. Midsumma Festival Inc. 116. Monash Gallery of Art (MGA) 117. Moonee Valley City Council 118. Moreland City Council 119. Moreland City Council and RMIT 120. Mount Alexander Shire Council 121. Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) 122. Museums Victoria 123. Music Victoria 124. Musica Viva Australia 125. National Trust of Australia (Victoria) 126. NAVA 127. Next Wave Festival Inc.

128. OIP -Funded Melbourne Festivals Group 129. Opera Australia 130. Outer Urban Projects Ltd 131. Oxygen College 132. PBS 106.7 FM (community radio) 133. Penny Baron 134. Penny Ikinger (Group) 135. Penny Ikinger (Individual) 136. Peter King 137. Philip Boon (Fashion Ind.) 138. PHOTO AUSTRALIA LTD 139. Polyglot Theatre 140. Pracsys 141. Preston Zly 142. Priya Srinivasan 143. Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) 144. Public Libraries Victoria 145. Punctum Inc 146. Rawcus Theatre Company Inc 147. Rebecca Gully 148. Regional Arts Victoria 149. REMIX Summits 150. Remote Control 151. Res Artis 152. RMIT University 153. Royal Historical Society of Victoria 154. Screen Producers Australia 155. Sharon Andrews 156. Simon Kirwan 157. Sounds Australia 158. Southern Grampians Shire Council 159. State Library Victoria 160. Stuart Menzies 161. SupportAct 162. Surf Coast Shire Council 163. Swan Hill Rural City Council 164. The Boite 165. The Dax Centre 166. The East End Theatre District 167. The Pulse community radio 168. The Push Inc 169. The Usefulness of Art (Adam Simmons) 170. Theatre Network Australia 171. Thorium Films

172. Tim Humphrey 173. Tim Nikolsky 174. Tolarno Galleries 175. Torque 176. Uplive Melbourne 177. VicHealth 178. Victoria Tourism Industry Council 179. Victorian Association of Performing Arts Centres (VAPAC inc) 180. Virginia Dowzer 181. Weekly Ticket Footscray 182. WENDY LASICA 183. Wendy Tonkin 184. Western Victorian Jazz Productions Inc. trading as Port Fairy Jazz Festival 185. Westside Circus 186. William McBride 187. Women's Art Register 188. Women's Circus 189. Zena Hosseini

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