Sa Arts- Strategic Directions and Fresh Ideas
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SA ARTS- STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS AND FRESH IDEAS STEVEN MARSHALL, STATE LIBERAL LEADER “The arts sector in South Australia is internationally renowned as innovative, vibrant and varied. The State Liberals are committed to seeing all our creative industries thrive and grow.” Steven Marshall State Liberal Leader SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTS INDUSTRY Strategic directions and fresh ideas South Australia was once regarded as our nation’s most creative state. 1Adelaide and our regional centres continue to be home to numerous festivals, arts companies, cultural institutions, artists, administrators and creatives who make up our vital arts and creative sector, and whose creative endeavours enlarge and enrich our life, and help us all to celebrate our sense of identity, heritage and cultural diversity. However, after 12 years of Labor our arts and creative community is only just holding its head above water. The Weatherill Labor Government has taken an ad-hoc approach to arts policy. Its lack of a strategic plan for the industry has led to intermittent funding. The drip-feed of State Government funding and excessive red tape has kept arts organisations tied up in paper work and unsure about their economic viability from year to year. A Marshall Liberal Government is committed to seeing our arts and creative industries thrive and grow. We want South Australia to be a place where arts organisations and creative businesses are able to grow and network, be sustainable and plan for the future with confidence. A strong arts and creative sector is able to employ new artists and practitioners, produce new works, collaborate creatively and contribute as critical, creative participants to the culture, tourism and economic drivers of South Australia. This is why we have committed to an Arts Action Agenda. A Marshall Liberal Government will: Prepare a long-term strategic plan for the arts sector in South Australia with input from the creative arts sector; Establish a dedicated arts secondary school in the metropolitan area; Provide seed funding to Music SA to grow the skills of our young musicians, and establish a Contemporary Live Music Advisory Board; Begin work on our vision to see the Adelaide Festival Plaza turn into an engaging arts precinct and cultural public space; Separate the Adelaide College of the Arts out from underneath TAFE; and, Fund the South Australian Museum to prepare plans for a staged upgrade. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTS INDUSTRY Labor’s failures 2After 12 years of Labor, our arts sector and creative industries are struggling to remain sustainable in a difficult economic climate and with no government vision or advocacy. The Weatherill Labor Government has taken a haphazard approach to arts policy. Small companies are surviving from grant to grant, and larger organisations are unable to make long-term plans. The premier cultural precincts of North Terrace and the Adelaide Festival Centre are tired and in need of rejuvenation. Following major redevelopments to the Art Gallery and State Library (funded by the State Liberals when last in Government), the South Australian Museum is now also in dire need of upgraded public facilities and exhibition spaces, an issue ignored by Labor over the past 12 years. Labor is not a friend to the arts community. Too many of our arts companies and precincts are barely surviving on subsistence funding, with no idea what direction the State Government will take in the arts portfolio and how this will affect them. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTS INDUSTRY The State Liberals Plan 3A long range vision to grow a viable, sustainable and vibrant arts sector The State Liberals understand that arts in South Australia is much more than just “Mad March”. We also understand our artists, our arts and cultural organisations and our creative thinkers, do not operate in a vacuum. The interplay is varied and far reaching. By their very nature, the people who work in this sector are enterprising and we want to encourage them to play a more dynamic role in our economy. This diverse sector needs to know what creative direction our State is taking so all players can plan and partner together to develop a viable and vibrant future that is: • focussed on growth, opportunity and financial sustainability; and • guided by a framework for decision making that embraces excellence and engagement. A Marshall Liberal Government will work with the arts and creative sector to develop a 10 year strategic plan. Issues to be explored include: • Re-structuring Arts SA to perform a leadership role with a focus on arts advocacy across Government, policy development for artists and the arts sector (liquor licensing, public liability etc) plus performance management with companies and with the agency once again reporting direct to the Minister; • Placing major art companies/cultural institutions on negotiated triennial funding agreements with global budgets, to allow Boards and management to take greater responsibility for the operation of their daily business and future planning; • Reducing regulatory red tape and “whole of government” policy determinations across the arts sector; • Building engagement with audiences, and extending the reach of the collections held by our cultural institutions through the use of new digital technologies; • Looking at the long-term infrastructure needs of our arts institutions and, • Introducing business “Pathway Plans” designed to support the sustainability of art forms across the sector and nurture career paths for artists/practitioners. In developing the Strategic Plan the State Liberals are keen to receive input from artists and the broad creative sector on world’s best practice measures that will: • Promote excellence in art practice across the board; and • Encourage young people (and their parents) to believe that there is a future for them in the arts in South Australia. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTS INDUSTRY The State Liberals Plan 4Dedicated arts secondary school If elected in March 2014, a Marshall Liberal Government will create a dedicated arts secondary school in the metropolitan area. We will work with existing metropolitan schools to identify an appropriate location to establish a dedicated arts school facility. The model will be based upon the John Curtin College of the Arts in Western Australia. The school will be provided with the specific resources, including specialist teachers to attract students with a particular interest in the arts. We will also work with the school and the SACE board to focus their curriculum on arts and creative industries. The school will offer a rigorous academic curriculum as well as an extended Arts studies subject curriculum including: • Arts Media • Dance/ballet • Drama • Music • Music Theatre • Visual Arts The school will maintain it’s existing zoning, but will reserve a percentage of enrollments for students outside of the zone who apply through an application and audition process to be a part of the arts academy. The arts dedicated high school would then be able to feed graduating students into our local universities and ACArts. PROMOTING THE ARTS THROUGH EDUCATION The State Liberal Plan 5Separate ACArts from TAFE SA If elected in March 2014, we will move to separate the Adelaide College of the Arts out from TAFE SA. We want to see our West End become a vibrant hub for creative industry and innovative education, and believe that empowering ACArts by separating it out from underneath TAFE will allow it to take more of a leadership role in the arts community. Currently, ACArts students have unique creative needs that are different to those of traditional VET training. There is currently a disconnect between the needs of the arts sector and the ability of ACArts to meet these needs while operating under TAFE. We will allow ACArts to become a beacon of artistic excellence, pursuing their own creative agenda informed by the needs of the industry and creative sector. It is envisaged that the Adelaide College of the Arts will have an independent arts industry-led board and will be able to raise capital and undertake improvements to its facility further enhancing energy efficiency, and earning and learning potential. We will investigate the best options for the college’s future makeup, including the option of becoming a statutory organisation. Opening up the arts college to the private sector will make them eligible for grants and industry sponsorship. An independent ACArts will also be free to form strategic partnerships, and create pathways for learning with schools and universities - and beyond into South Australia’s arts and creative industries. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTS INDUSTRY The State Liberals Plan 6Live Music The State Liberals understand the important role that live music plays in South Australia. From small pub bands, to international performers and touring music festivals, live music is an important component of the South Australian arts culture. A Marshall Liberal Government will use the $850,000 per annum set aside as part of the Community Development Fund to support live music in South Australia. We will provide seed funding to Music SA to assist new artists to develop their bands and to help music industry businesses to grow and become sustainable. The funding will allow Music SA to establish a program which teaches students how to organise, book and stage a live music event or show, culminating in performances at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. We will also establish a Contemporary Live Music Advisory Board to provide advice directly to the Minister for the Arts on ways to strengthen and grow our live music industry in South Australia. The Board will work with Government to ensure that regulatory barriers to live music (such as licensing and venues) are removed. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTS INDUSTRY The State Liberals Plan 7Creative industries For far too long the arts have been viewed as an ornament to everyday life, rather than an economic driver and employer. We want to see our arts and creative industries driving economic activity and employing more people.