19 October 2020 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts Inquiry into Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutions Submission from Castlemaine State Festival Introduction Castlemaine State Festival (CSF) welcomes this Parliamentary Inquiry in particular the desire to better understand the economic, employment, community and social wellbeing arising from creative and cultural industries. A more systematic and better supported system to recognise, support and grow the benefits of creative and cultural industries would be most welcome. About Castlemaine State Festival The Castlemaine State Festival is a 10 day long multi-arts event held in the Central Victorian City of Castlemaine, in the Mt Alexander Shire municipality. The Castlemaine State Festival began in 1976 and has now run 23 festivals over 44 years. Planning is now underway for a Covid safe Festival to be held in March 2021. The Festival has grown to be arguably Australia’s flagship multi-arts regional festival. It precedes any other Victorian multi-arts festival and has been unique in its scope and diversity, and in its impact on the social and cultural fabric of central Victoria in particular, as evidenced by surveys on cultural and artistic engagement by the community. Castlemaine State Festival PO Box 230 Castlemaine Victoria Australia 3450 P + 61 3 5472 3733 E
[email protected] W www.castlemainefestival.com.au The Festival program encompasses a wide variety of music, theatre, dance, literature, film and visual arts, and is a major contributor in connecting people and developing creative and cultural endeavour within this regional community. Highlights from the 2019 Festival were.