Submission to the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts: Australia’s creative and cultural industries and institutions

November 2020

Contents Overview ...... 3 NSW Arts portfolio ...... 3 Scope of Create NSW’s submission ...... 3 NSW Government support for arts, screen and culture ...... 4 Response to the Terms of Reference...... 6 1 – The direct and indirect economic benefits and employment opportunities of creative and cultural industries and how to recognise, measure and grow them ...... 6 NSW context ...... 6 NSW cultural infrastructure investment and employment ...... 7 NSW screen investment and employment ...... 9 Create NSW’s Arts and Cultural Funding Program ...... 11 NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint ...... 11 Sydney 24-hour Economy Strategy ...... 11 2 – The non-economic benefits that enhance community, social wellbeing and promoting Australia's national identity, and how to recognise, measure and grow them ...... 13 NSW context ...... 13 Create NSW examples ...... 14 Examples from the State Cultural Institutions ...... 17 3 – The best mechanism for ensuring cooperation and delivery of policy between layers of government ...... 21 NSW context ...... 21 Create NSW examples: Collaboration, co-design and partnerships ...... 21 Meeting of Cultural Ministers ...... 23 4 – The impact of COVID-19 on the creative and cultural industries ...... 25 NSW context ...... 25 Impact on NSW cultural infrastructure projects ...... 26 Impact on the State Cultural Institutions...... 26 Impact on the screen sector ...... 26 NSW Government financial support to the arts, screen and culture sector in response to COVID-19 ...... 27 Changes in State Cultural Institutions’ service delivery ...... 29 Reopening venues ...... 31 5 – Avenues for increasing access and opportunities for Australia's creative and cultural industries through innovation and the digital environment...... 32

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Digital programming and participation during the pandemic ...... 32 Other digitisation initiatives and opportunities ...... 32 Examples from the State Cultural Institutions ...... 33 Innovation ...... 35

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November 2020 Overview NSW Arts portfolio Create NSW is part of the NSW Government’s Arts portfolio. It includes Screen NSW and Create Infrastructure and provides support and advocacy for the arts, screen and culture sector. The NSW State Cultural Institutions are also part of the NSW Arts portfolio. These major institutions are:  Art Gallery of NSW  Australian Museum  Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum)  State Archives and Records Authority  State Library of NSW  Sydney Living Museums  Sydney Opera House. Create NSW and the State Cultural Institutions operate within the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Community Engagement Group. Scope of Create NSW’s submission Create NSW welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Standing Committee’s Inquiry. The State Cultural Institutions have contributed substantial advice and information to Create NSW’s submission. The benefits of culture reach far further than the fundamental intrinsic value of enriching our lives creatively and emotionally. Create NSW’s submission provides information on NSW policies, strategies, current funding priorities, approaches to delivery and a range of initiatives that are relevant to the Inquiry. The submission highlights that:  The NSW Arts portfolio and broader arts, screen and culture sector are vital to Australia’s economy and broader society and  It is essential to our economy and society that governments, business and the community improve how we value and support this sector with its complex interrelationships and challenges, particularly as we seek to recover from the impact of COVID-19, bushfires, drought and floods. The NSW Government remains strongly committed to improving participation and investing in the NSW sector’s creativity, excellence, innovation and sustainability. The online survey which is part of the Standing Committee’s Inquiry identifies a non- definitive list of the benefits of the creative and cultural industries and institutions:  Enhanced creativity and innovation  Building strong communities through removal of cultural, social and economic barriers  Promoting cultural appreciation  Functioning as an educational tool. Create NSW notes that the scope of the Inquiry includes “Indigenous, regional, rural and community-based organisations”. Create NSW’s submission provides information on all of these areas, plus benefits such as:  Direct contribution to the NSW and Australian economy  Employment in metropolitan and regional areas  Support for the world’s oldest living culture

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 Tourism  Contribution to Australia’s international profile  Vibrant precincts and liveable communities. In line with the structure of the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference, Create NSW’s submission includes separate information on economic benefits and employment (Response 1 below) and non-economic benefits (Response 2). However, many of the examples provided in the submission demonstrate that economic and non-economic impacts can overlap and reinforce each other. NSW Government support for arts, screen and culture NSW is home to the nation’s largest, most diverse population and its largest, most diverse and most innovative arts, screen and culture sector. NSW has1:  The greatest concentration of creative industries workers: 42 per cent  The largest performing arts market: 32 per cent by attendance and 37.1 per cent by revenue  11 of Australia’s 28 major performing arts companies: five leading music companies and six leading theatre and dance companies  57 per cent of the nation’s screen industry employment and 47 per cent of screen businesses2  Over 5,500 cultural infrastructure sites. This includes 57 Aboriginal cultural centres and galleries and more than 760 museums, 680 galleries, 500 libraries, 17 regional conservatoriums, 1,100 licenced venues and 1,500 arts and screen studio facilities. 87% of community members think it is very important to have cultural activity in their local area.3 Key NSW Government policies for the arts, screen and cultural sector are:  Create in NSW: The NSW Arts and Cultural Policy Framework4, released in 2015; and  the Cultural Infrastructure Plan 2025+, released in 2019. These policies aim to optimise opportunities for creativity across the state, create more jobs and liveable communities, and contribute to building the state’s economy. Other NSW Government policies and strategies that deal with the contribution of the arts, screen and culture sector to the NSW economy and broader society, such as the NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint and the Sydney 24-hour Economy Strategy are referenced throughout this submission. Create NSW’s Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP) is the key mechanism through which the NSW Government invests in the arts and cultural sector. In 2020/21, the NSW Government is providing $62 million in programs, projects and professional development through the ACFP across the spectrum of the NSW arts ecology – from major arts institutions and organisations, to local council-run arts and cultural facilities and programs,

1 Figures are from NSW Government Cultural infrastructure Plan 2025+ (CIP) 2019: https://create.nsw.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/20190206 CIP2025.pdf - except for screen industry figures 2 ABS, Film, Television and Digital Games, Australia, 2017 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology- and-innovation/film-television-and-digital-games-australia/latest-release 3 Cultural Infrastructure Community and Cultural Sector Survey 2018 in CIP, page 1 4 Create in NSW https://www.create.nsw.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ARTS-NSW-Policy 13-MAY web- 1.pdf

4 festivals, small to medium arts and cultural organisations, the regional arts network, arts and cultural service organisations and individual artists. Priority areas reflected in ACFP funding criteria and decisions include:  People living and/or working in regional NSW  People living and/or working in Western Sydney  Aboriginal people  People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds  People with disability; and  Young people. The 2020-21 Budget also provided $100 million for screen sector investment for scripted narrative content including feature films, adult and children’s drama and narrative comedy, factual and documentary television or online programs, and creative interactive screen projects. This includes $35 million for the Made in NSW fund. Screen NSW’s programs cover development, production, regional filming, market travel, industry and audience development and international production attraction. Screen NSW prioritises Western Sydney and regional NSW across all its programs and enhances the meaningful inclusion of under-represented groups in the NSW screen industry. Arts, screen, heritage and culture play a critical role in the state’s economy, from skills development and job creation to attracting cultural tourists. Maximising excellence in arts, culture and heritage will leverage NSW’s current capabilities, further position the state as a world-class centre for performances, events, exhibitions and cultural visitation, as well as develop new state cultural assets for future generations. In 2020-21, the NSW Government will invest $1.5 billion ($739.7 million recurrent expenses and $757.4 million capital expenditure) towards achieving excellence in arts, culture and heritage for the people of NSW. Creative Kids is a $216 million, four-year NSW Government initiative that aims to encourage school-aged children and young people to participate in creative and cultural activities. Parents and guardians can apply for a voucher with a value of up to $100 per calendar year for each school-enrolled child aged 4.5 to 18 years. The voucher may be used with an approved activity provider for registration, participation and tuition costs of creative activities. The NSW arts, screen and cultural sector has been hit hard by COVID-19 and by the necessary public health orders needed to protect the public and workers in the sector from harm. In May 2020 the NSW Government announced a $50 million Rescue and Restart package for NSW arts and cultural organisations, to ensure the sector remains viable through the COVID-19 pandemic. This followed a $6.34 million package announced in April 2020 to provide immediate support to the arts, screen and cultural sector at the outset of the pandemic. In response to COVID-19 restrictions and their effect on the creative and education sectors, the Government also launched Creative Kids Digital and the Creative Kids Small Business Grant Program in May 2020. These programs have helped to ensure that young people have continued access to creative programs and activities during the pandemic. More information on the Government’s support for the arts, screen and cultural sector in response to COVID-19 is in Response 4 below.

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Response to the Terms of Reference 1 – The direct and indirect economic benefits and employment opportunities of creative and cultural industries and how to recognise, measure and grow them

NSW context Creative industries in NSW employ more than 212,000 people and drive innovation across the economy. Culture makes NSW an exciting destination for visitors, helping to attract 13.6 million cultural and heritage visitors to the state in 2018 and expenditure of $14 billion5. In 2017, Create NSW engaged KPMG to undertake a study on the Economic Value of Arts, Screen and Culture to NSW. The report assessed the direct and indirect benefits that accrued from activity in these sectors.6 In developing the report, Create NSW relied on the then Department of Industry’s (now Department of Planning, Industry and Environment) definition of creative industries, of which the arts, screen and cultural sectors are a subset and are identified in the report. The report found that in 2016/17, the arts, screen and culture sector contributed $16.4 billion to NSW’s Gross State Product. This is $8.7 billion in direct value add and $7.7 billion in indirect value flowing from arts, screen and culture activities to other sectors. Additionally, the sector supported around 120,000 full time equivalent jobs (82,400 direct and 36,400 indirect) in NSW. As a result, the report estimated that for every dollar spent annually in NSW on arts, screen and culture, the overall impact on the NSW economy is $1.88. The model chosen by Create NSW and KPMG to evaluate the direct economic impact utilised the metrics of output, value added and employment. Estimates were developed using a mix of industry data and ABS methodologies. Further detail on the methodology used in assessing the economic benefits is included in Appendix C of the full KPMG report. The Powerhouse Museum has advised that additional indicators for consideration in assessing the direct economic benefits of arts and culture may include:  The benefit of human capital uplift, productivity and collaboration of co-locating and embedding creative industries in cultural institutions and precincts and the flow on benefits for the wider economy  The education benefits of original and distinct experiences at cultural institutions and the extent to which they influence future education and career choices and the effect on earning capacities  The economic benefit of the health and wellbeing effects that cohesive cultural identity and cultural experiences enable  The economic effect of cultural infrastructure, creative industries and cultural precincts on surrounding infrastructure.

5 Culture and Heritage visitors to NSW, Destination NSW, year ending December 2018, quoted in NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint: Investing in the State’s Future, NSW Treasury 2019, page 51 https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/nsw-economy/nsw-2040-economic-blueprint 6 KPMG Economic Value of Arts, Screen and Culture to NSW, 2018 https://www.create.nsw.gov.au/wp- content/uploads/2018/12/Economic-Value-of-Arts-Screen-and-Culture-2018-Report.pdf

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NSW cultural infrastructure investment and employment In addition to the economic benefits of existing infrastructure and programs, the NSW Government is currently delivering an unprecedented investment in new and upgraded cultural infrastructure across the state. This investment will result in direct economic benefits relating to construction (expenditure and jobs), as well as long term benefits from the ongoing operation of this infrastructure. Examples of the NSW Government’s new and upgraded cultural infrastructure investment include: Australian Museum’s Stage 1 Redevelopment The Government has committed $50.5 million to the Australian Museum’s Stage 1 Redevelopment. Combined with a $7 million contribution from the Australian Museum, this funding will repurpose existing storage space within the Australian Museum to create a new, flexible 1,500 square metre touring exhibition hall. This new space will allow Sydney to attract major international touring exhibitions into the future. Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill The expansion of the Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill includes new storage for the Powerhouse Collections, research, conservation and workshop facilities as well as public spaces that will increase access to the Powerhouse Collections. It is estimated that the project will create 150 construction jobs. Powerhouse Parramatta The new Powerhouse Parramatta is the largest investment in cultural infrastructure since the Sydney Opera House. When complete, it will be the largest museum in NSW – the centrepiece of a cultural precinct on the banks of the Parramatta River. This project will be transformational for Western Sydney and will deliver a range of economic, social and cultural benefits. This project is expected to create more than 1,100 construction jobs in Western Sydney, along with 2,400 indirect jobs. It will inject hundreds of millions into the economy through the procurement of labour and construction materials. Once operational, the Powerhouse Parramatta will support 400 ongoing jobs and attract two million visitors each year to Parramatta, injecting millions of tourism dollars into Western Sydney. Regional Cultural Fund The Regional Cultural Fund was established to ensure regional NSW receives its fair share of arts and cultural infrastructure and provides recreational and educational benefits as well as increased cultural tourism. As NSW recovers from the impact of COVID-19, the fund will help to attract major cultural productions and touring exhibitions to regional NSW. Cultural infrastructure plays an increasingly important role in attracting visitors to NSW, with heritage and cultural visitors more likely to stay longer and spend more than other visitors. The $100 million program is being run over four years, with projects being delivered from 2018 to 2021. A total of 136 projects have been funded. To date 58 projects have been completed and over $52 million has been distributed to projects across NSW. The funds have leveraged significant investment in new and improved infrastructure with an estimated total cost of $196 million. Evaluation planning is underway to assess the social, cultural and economic benefits of these projects to regional areas.

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Examples of projects funded by the Regional Cultural Fund include:  The redevelopment of Old Dubbo Gaol exhibitions, which will create opportunities to increase cultural tourism to this state heritage listed site and to the Dubbo region  The expansion of the facilities at Australia’s Flying Fruit Fly youth circus headquarters in Albury, which will significantly increase capacity and enhance community participation. Sydney Modern The Art Gallery of NSW expansion – the Sydney Modern Project – will deliver an outstanding global art museum for NSW. The expansion will provide close to double the space available for the display and enjoyment of art, enable the Art Gallery to show more of NSW’s outstanding art collection and allow NSW to host more of the best exhibitions from Australia and around the world. It is estimated that the project will inject over $1 billion into the economy over the next 25 years, create 240 full time jobs and increase annual visitation to the Art Gallery of NSW to more than two million people per year. Sydney Opera House The NSW Government is investing $228 million in the renewal of the Sydney Opera House. This funding will go towards accessibility and acoustic improvements, new function and events centres, a new creative learning centre and upgrades to the Concert Hall. More than 10.9 million people visit the Opera House every year and this renewal will assist in strengthening the economic benefit of this World Heritage institution, which generates $1.2 billion in economic activity every year. In 2018 Deloitte released their “Revaluing an icon – Sydney Opera House” report. The report is an updated version of the 2013 report, that assessed the Sydney Opera House’s cultural, social and digital value, as well as its economic contribution. Deloitte found that that the Opera House precinct supports about 8,700 full-time equivalent jobs, and for every person directly employed by the Opera House, 14 others are employed throughout the economy.7 Theatre Royal The Government has also entered into a long-term lease for the Theatre Royal in the Sydney CBD. A reopened Theatre Royal will support the live performance industry and assist in growing the NSW economy through the presentation of first-run major international productions. Internationally renowned musicals deliver around $25 million in visitor spend over a six-month run and around 200 jobs. Walsh Bay Arts Precinct The redevelopment of the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct will create a new, dynamic arts and cultural precinct at Walsh Bay. The redevelopment will see the provision of new state-of-the- art performance, rehearsal and office spaces for some of the state’s major performing arts companies, with nine performing arts organisations taking residency. The fit-out of Pier 2/3 will accommodate two additional major performing arts organisations, with completion of the precinct increasing employment opportunities through the activation of additional rehearsal and performance spaces and increased offering of educational programming.

7 https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/sydney-opera-house/articles/revaluing-icon-sydney-opera-house.html#

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The centralised accommodation of the arts organisations and remedial works to the state significant heritage structures will ensure continued public engagement and activation of the site. The project is anticipated to generate 600 additional jobs during construction. NSW screen investment and employment A report commissioned by Screen Australia8 showed that the creation of Australian screen talent provides around $3 billion annually to the economy, generating in excess of 25,000 jobs. Australian feature films, TV dramas and documentaries earn at least $252 million annually through exports. Approximately 230,000 international tourists visit Australia or extend their stay each year as a consequence of Australian screen content, spending an estimated $725 million. The activity generated by screen production has ripple effects through its spending on suppliers and in the wider economy. Investment from the NSW Government in the screen production sector supports thousands of local jobs and helps to generate significant expenditure in the state. Demand for screen content is growing rapidly at a global level, which means the opportunities to secure jobs in this sector are also growing. Jobs in the NSW screen sector are highly skilled jobs of the future and other countries and states are competing aggressively for them. NSW has a competitive advantage in screen production due to strong NSW Government support, the presence of state-of-the-art studios, world-class crews and leading educational institutions. The NSW Government supports screen production jobs through the Screen NSW Production Finance Program, the Made in NSW fund and the Post-production, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) Rebate. The Production Finance Program provides funding for local features, documentaries and children’s series projects produced or post-produced in NSW. Over the past three years the Production Finance fund has supported approximately 19,000 local jobs. The Made in NSW fund provides incentives and investment to secure local high-end TV drama series and to attract international productions. In the three years from 2017/18 to 2019/20, the Made in NSW fund supported close to 18,000 jobs. In November 2020, the NSW Government announced that the Made in NSW fund would be extended to support domestic films and has an increased budget allocation of $175 million over five years. The Made in NSW fund will create a pipeline of high-end screen production in NSW and build on the success of previous investment. It will focus its investment in new film and TV projects that:  Significantly contribute to the NSW economy  Create high value jobs  Create new opportunities in Western Sydney and regional NSW  Build the skills and capacity of established and emerging practitioners  Grow audiences; and  Contribute to NSW’s reputation as the leading state in business and film. The Made in NSW fund has secured two new Marvel movies for NSW, including Thor: Love and Thunder starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, which begins shooting in January 2021. Thor alone is expected to generate up to 2,500 jobs. The Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has just finished filming in Sydney, and has

8 Measuring the Cultural Value of Australia’s Screen Sector, Olsberg SPI for Screen Australia November 2016 https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/1dce395e-a482-42d1-b5a9-47bb6307f868/Screen-Currency- Olsberg-SPI-Nov2016.pdf

9 employed over 2,200 direct NSW employees in cast, crew and extras, and used over 900 NSW vendors. International productions bring immediate economic benefits because production and expenditure can start within weeks of a decision, with hundreds of jobs for cast and crew across metropolitan and regional locations from the Northern Rivers to the Snowy Mountains, and out to Broken Hill. The Made in NSW – TV Drama fund recognises the potential for major Australian TV drama series to:  Grow bigger audiences at home and internationally  Create opportunities for NSW production companies to finance their new shows with international partners  Develop returning series, which leads to more work for our crews; and  Tell Australian stories that are both locally relevant and have international resonance. Since screen productions started getting back to work after COVID-related shutdowns, productions supported by the NSW Government have employed approximately 8,000 people across the state and these productions are estimated to spend in excess of $300 million over coming months. In addition to these screen projects with financial investment from the state, there are a large number of television shows without state government funds, with another estimated 1,900 people employed on shows currently in production across NSW. These shows are estimated to spend $200 million over the coming months. The PDV Rebate of 10 per cent of eligible NSW expenditure, introduced from October 2019, is contributing to the Government’s vision of creating great jobs in great places. The rebate has already supported work for over 2,900 NSW residents and generated expenditure in the state of more than $300 million. The introduction of the rebate helped secure the presence of leading global company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) in Sydney. The studio is expected to create 500 new high value creative and technical jobs and $333 million in PDV production over the next five years. ILM will also partner with training organisations in NSW to train up to 530 people over the next five years through matched funding of $6 million to ensure the local PDV industry has a skilled and job-ready workforce. Local PDV companies such as Animal Logic, Slate, Plastic Wax, Cutting Edge and Big Bang Sound Design are also benefitting from the availability of the PDV rebate, taking on new trainees, interns and skilled staff. Screen NSW also supports Aboriginal film makers and screen productions and the career development of emerging Aboriginal creative talent. For example, in 2020/21 Screen NSW is supporting an Aboriginal NSW producer through the Emerging Screen Producer Placement. In 2018/19 and 2019/20, the Emerging Screen Producer Placement supported three Aboriginal NSW producers. The Indigenous Talent Creative incubator, in partnership with Bunya Productions, will offer masterclasses and mentoring opportunities for emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners. The screen sector can also increase employment and representation of people from under- represented groups who face barriers to economic and social inclusion. For example, Screenability NSW is a program of activities delivered by Screen NSW in partnership with industry to grow participation in the screen sector by screen creatives with disability. Highlights include the Screenability Film Festival as part of the Sydney Film Festival and the Screenability Filmmakers Fund – a short form initiative for teams with at least one key creative with disability. Funded films from the initiative are screened each year at Sydney Film Festival.

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Create NSW’s Arts and Cultural Funding Program The ACFP’s investment to support a thriving arts and culture sector, creative excellence and increased participation generates direct and indirect economic benefits, including employment, career development of practitioners, metropolitan and regional cultural tourism, innovation and industry partnerships. The ACFP provides almost $1 million for a suite of fellowships, small project grants and professional development opportunities for artists in NSW. Aimed at boosting local and international development opportunities, partnerships have been formed with leading cultural organisations including the Powerhouse Museum, Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Dance Company and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, to provide fellowship opportunities for musicians, actors, dancers and visual artists.

NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint The Blueprint9, released by NSW Treasury in 2019, describes NSW’s economy and industry structure, sets out aspirations for the state and identifies global trends and growth industries for the future. It identifies seven policy levers to enhance the state’s capacity to grow the economy, innovate and improve standards of living. It also identifies major opportunities for NSW Government policy and investment. These include opportunities in industries that build on strengths in the state, such as arts, culture and creative industries. The Blueprint highlights that demand for arts and cultural product is increasing. It identifies a wide range of value adding, particularly in the virtual reality, augmented reality and games development industries for applications as diverse as defence and aerospace, health, disability, education and creative ageing. The Blueprint emphasises that: The prosperity of New South Wales will increasingly rely on investments and innovations across disciplines, many of them combining creative activity with technology and engineering know-how…Strategies that showcase and grow the state’s arts and cultural offering will directly service…growing demand. By building its profile as a global cultural destination, New South Wales stands to gain jobs, investment and exports, all while growing productive cultural exchange and long-term international relationships in many different industries.10

Sydney 24-hour Economy Strategy In September 2020, the NSW Government released its Sydney 24-hour Economy Strategy11 that will create jobs, foster arts and culture, and reinforce Sydney’s status as a global city. The Strategy comprises 39 actions across five ‘Strategic Pillars’ which:  Support more integrated planning and place-making – more ‘joined-up’ state, local government and industry collaboration to enable the 24-hour economy to thrive  Encourage the diversification of night-time activities by supporting a wider variety of businesses at night  Nurture industry and cultural development to help entrepreneurs thrive in the 24-hour economy  Explore ways to enhance mobility and improve connectivity between 24-hour economy hubs through safe and reliable transport

9 NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint: Investing in the State’s Future, NSW Treasury 2019, https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/nsw-economy/nsw-2040-economic-blueprint 10 NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint: Investing in the State’s Future, page 51 11 https://global.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/24hoursEconomyStrategy FA-RR-online-v3.pdf

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 Change the narrative for Sydney to drive more local consumption and highlight Sydney as a world-class night-time destination that is safe, vibrant and inclusive for our citizens, our visitors, workers and families. Create NSW is a key partner in the delivery of 19 actions in the strategy. New programs developed to encourage businesses and event organisers to engage artists and cultural workers to activate the 24-hour economy are the:  Main Street Activation Program supporting micro-festivals across Sydney  Small Venues Program designed to support the activation of small venues for cultural activities, including live performances.

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2 – The non-economic benefits that enhance community, social wellbeing and promoting Australia's national identity, and how to recognise, measure and grow them

NSW context It is widely recognised that beyond the direct economic benefits, arts and cultural activity can have significant benefits in other domains, such as self-determination for Aboriginal communities, social inclusion, health and wellbeing, education, social cohesion, access and diversity. With the impacts of the 2020 bushfires, floods and COVID-19, it has become even more clear how important the arts, screen and culture sector’s role is in connecting the community. As COVID-19 forced people around the world into isolation, the arts are what people turned to maintain a community connection and a sense of belonging. Recent research published by the Australia Council for the Arts has highlighted the positive impact of arts and creativity on Australians’ lives, communities and national identity, with an increasing majority of Australians acknowledging these positive impacts.12 Creative and cultural activities can have different social aims, and therefore, different benefits. However, some of the social benefits identified by the Economic Value of Arts, Screen and Culture to NSW report included:  Providing diversity, opportunity and pathways for performers and artists  Providing people with access to a wide range of artistic, cultural and screen activities  Increasing opportunities for Aboriginal writers, directors, performers and film makers  Opportunities for community participation, contributing to social cohesion, wellbeing and life-long learning  Raising the profile of NSW as a global creative destination  Opportunities for collaboration and exchange of ideas, promoting improvement in income generation, business models and artistic practice. As the Sydney Opera House emphasises, the social impact value of arts and culture (often intangible or qualitative benefits), while just as significant as the economic and employment value, are often difficult and expensive to capture for individual organisations and the industry lacks common language, metrics and frameworks for measuring that impact. Investment decisions need to move beyond the traditional financial return on investment model to a deeper understanding of the social value of the arts. Collaboration across governments to build a broader, industry-specific impact framework would add great value to organisations, as well as governments’ and the community’s understanding of the community value and impact of the arts. In 2015 the Australia Council for the Arts undertook analysis on wellbeing, which suggested that engagement with the arts correlates with higher life satisfaction. This research found that the amount of money required to produce an increase in life satisfaction equivalent to arts engagement is $4,349 per person per annum.13 It also found that, although data is available to carry out this kind of analysis in Australia, the UK, Germany and the USA, there had been relatively little research on the relationship between engagement with arts and culture and wellbeing14.

12 https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/creating-our-future 13 https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/arts-nation-an-overview-of-australian-arts/ page 11 14 https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/arts-nation-an-overview-of-australian-arts/ page 41

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At the request of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers, the Australia Council for the Arts and the Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) have established a partnership to jointly commission new research exploring the contribution of the arts to wellbeing, public value and social inclusion in Australia and New Zealand. Opportunities exist to further identify and develop consistent measures for assessing the non-economic benefits arising from arts and cultural activities, leveraging off this existing work. Create NSW examples Create NSW’s infrastructure priorities, grant programs and partnerships contribute to a wide range of benefits that strengthen communities, support education, promote wellbeing and liveability. Aboriginal cultural infrastructure and programs Create NSW’s Cultural Infrastructure Plan 2025+ identifies the need to increase access to cultural infrastructure and to support the economic and social participation of Aboriginal communities. Create NSW is planning for cultural infrastructure that supports Aboriginal people to actively and fully participate in social, economic and cultural life, in line with the NSW Government OCHRE Plan15. This work includes identifying and implementing more dedicated spaces for Aboriginal culture in metropolitan and regional NSW as well as supporting meaningful employment and economic empowerment by providing the spaces needed to create and promote Aboriginal creative entrepreneurship. Spaces that recognise and preserve Aboriginal heritage and contemporary cultural practice both foster and celebrate Aboriginal culture and identity. Creative Koori Project funding in Create NSW’s ACFP supports the Aboriginal arts and cultural sector in NSW by providing funding for cultural and creative projects delivered by Aboriginal artists, organisations and communities. Creative Koori Project funding aims to build support for a strong, resilient and exciting Aboriginal arts and cultural sector for NSW. This is being done through embracing the principles of Aboriginal self-determination and putting Aboriginal artists, organisations and communities at the centre of funded cultural and creative activity. Health and wellbeing Consultation for Create NSW’s Cultural Infrastructure Plan 2025+ revealed that the community values cultural infrastructure and that it contributes to their wellbeing in a variety of ways. 65 per cent of respondents said that their use of cultural infrastructure helped them feel socially engaged and connected to their community, while 68 per cent identified that it supported their personal education and learning. The findings of this survey broadly reflect the 2017 study by the Australia Council for the Arts in which more than half of participants, in particular younger respondents, believed that culture positively impacts their personal health and wellbeing, their ability to express themselves and their ability to think creatively. Almost three quarters of participants said that culture makes for a richer and more meaningful life, and two‑thirds that it has a big or very big impact on their understanding of other people and cultures.

15 OCHRE stands for Opportunity, Choice, Healing, Responsibility, Empowerment. https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/our-agency/staying-accountable/ochre/the-ochre-plan/

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Cultural participation has been shown to have a direct positive impact on the health and wellbeing of people with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, depression and breast cancer. The comprehensive 2017 report of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing16 found:  “The arts can help keep us well, aid our recovery and support longer lives better lived  The arts can help meet major challenges facing health and social care: ageing, long- term conditions, loneliness and mental health  The arts can help save money in the health service and social care.” Create NSW’s COVID-19 support included grants for:  A Health and Wellbeing Initiative, funding projects focused on mental health and the wellbeing of older people, Aboriginal people and people with disability from across NSW  A Regenerate Regional Event Initiative, funding local artists and projects with a particular focus on music or performance in areas affected by the 2020 bushfires. The NSW Health and the Arts Framework17 supports the NSW Health system to maximise the benefits of integrating the arts into the design and delivery of health care services, activities and facilities across the whole of NSW Health, and public health messaging. It sets out a range of strategies to support NSW Local Health Districts to develop appropriate governance arrangements, informed by a range of guiding principles supporting leadership, best practice, and partnerships across the system. Create NSW is working with NSW Health on identifying and collecting appropriate and consistent data on the impact of programs on patients, family and staff experiences. Create NSW is working with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice on a NSW Creative Ageing Framework, to promote the contribution of the arts, screen and culture sector to inclusive communities and social participation, age-friendly environments and in supporting older people to keeping active and well. Under Strategic Priority 2 of Create NSW’s Cultural Infrastructure Plan 2025+, older people are one of the groups identified as a target community in the NSW Government’s program to increase access to cultural infrastructure. The Plan states: “Space to engage in and practice culture supports health and wellbeing as people age, building stronger links with communities.” Education Cultural activities have been shown to increase the cognitive ability of children by up to 17 per cent, making them better learners and providing them with the skills to apply knowledge more effectively. Students involved in culture earn better grades and are more likely to pursue further education. Cultural infrastructure also makes an important contribution to building the skills required for the future, because it plays a critical role in education and supporting education across Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines. Since the launch of the Creative Kids program in January 2019, parents have downloaded more than 678,000 vouchers and providers have redeemed more than 437,000 vouchers. This equates to over $42 million for the arts, cultural and creative sectors to provide programs to school-age children and young people. The number of approved providers has reached more than 4,000. There are over 40 eligible activity types across visual arts, performing arts, creative industries, literary and linguistic arts and cultural programs, including creative and cultural activities that support the school curriculum for 2020.

16 https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/appg-inquiry/ 17 https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/arts/Documents/nsw-health-and-the-arts-framework-report.pdf

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Liveability and placemaking Cultural infrastructure provides spaces where artists and the community can connect and benefit through the creation, sharing and enjoyment of arts and culture. Work undertaken by Create NSW through the Greater Sydney Commission’s Place-based Infrastructure Compacts has highlighted that cultural infrastructure is critical to 'liveability’ – the quality of life that people enjoy in their neighbourhoods, workplaces and cities. This is particularly true for areas which are newly developed or undergoing significant growth. Cultural place‑making activities are increasingly used as a strategy for making better places for people to live, work and visit. Cultural infrastructure – and the cultural activation that occurs within and around such infrastructure – makes places more attractive to not just residents but also visitors and workers. Culture embedded within communities also plays an important role in shaping the identity and character of a place while growth or changes occur. Local councils throughout NSW manage more than 4,000 cultural sites for their communities such as galleries, museums, performing arts centres and public libraries. The NSW Government’s $100 million Regional Cultural Fund has invested in a wide range of local council arts and cultural infrastructure. Local councils are vital to people participating in artistic and cultural expression. They fund, host, support and promote arts and culture and deliver services, programs, events and local cultural planning. In a climate of expanding global homogeneity, local production and participation are increasingly important. This includes a clear focus on the arts, culture and heritage contributing to social cohesion, particularly in uniting diverse communities, as well as arts and cultural programs and projects that improve health and wellbeing and education outcomes. Local councils are responsible for core funding of their arts and cultural facilities, and the role of NSW Government program and project funding is to encourage and foster excellence. In the 2020/21 ACFP, 29 local councils will benefit from over $3 million in funding designed to support councils to deliver exceptional arts and cultural programs across the state, including 19 councils in regional NSW and eight in Western Sydney. Funding will cover a variety of arts and cultural activities including the creation of new works, exhibitions, publishing and recording, and conservation or development of collections. Screen content Screen NSW funding is based on strategic priorities that result in direct economic benefits of increased screen production, employment and training and ensure diverse Australian stories, voices, faces and ideas are available to Australian and international audiences. Screen NSW also supports regional, culturally and linguistically diverse and Western Sydney screen organisations that develop content and audiences. Screen content can contribute powerfully to individual and community identity and a sense of belonging. Audiences value Australian screen content because it is diverse and unique. Australian audiences place an estimated value of $17 billion annually on local screen content, considering willingness to pay and time spent viewing.18

18 Measuring the Cultural Value of Australia’s Screen Sector, Olsberg SPI for Screen Australia November 2016 https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/1dce395e-a482-42d1-b5a9-47bb6307f868/Screen-Currency- Olsberg-SPI-Nov2016.pdf

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Examples from the State Cultural Institutions The State Cultural Institutions also deliver significant and extensive programs with impacts on identity, belonging, health and wellbeing and education, including for Aboriginal practitioners and communities and other priority groups. Examples include: Art Gallery of NSW The Gallery has a substantial and respected education program extending from preschool to tertiary students and teachers, including HSC Study Days and ARTEXPRESS. In 2018/19, more than 90,000 students and teachers participated in the Gallery’s education programs. 61 per cent of the Gallery’s education participants were from Western Sydney and regional NSW. The Gallery’s access programs engage diverse practitioners and audiences with different abilities. For example, its structured art and dementia program provides opportunities for meaningful and interactive engagement with artworks from the Gallery’s collection. It offers intellectual stimulation and encourages self-expression, with an opportunity for participants to articulate their opinions about what they experience and to connect with carers, other participants and Gallery guides. A creative ageing program, it also promotes lifelong learning and aims to reduce the stigma around dementia. The Gallery’s education programs include Starting with Art, for children with intellectual disability. Archie Plus, is a free program of art, music, performance and dance that marks a year of challenge and change and pays tribute to the acts of care, support and human resilience that have lifted, protected and inspired during 2020. As part of Archie Plus, the Gallery commissioned seven artists with disability from Sydney’s Studio A to create a spectacular mural in the Gallery’s forecourt.19 Australian Museum The Australian Museum Research Institute is the second oldest institution for science in Australia and makes a significant contribution to research and conservation, as well as helping to encourage STEAM learning for both adults and children. The Australian Museum is free for children under 16 years, allowing children to visit with their families or to attend student excursions without any economic constraints (except for transport costs). Over 50,000 students visit the museum each year with enhanced education facilities currently under construction. The museum is expected to double student visitation by 2024. A number of access and inclusion and cultural and linguistically diverse programs are offered to visitors. The museum has a comprehensive series of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led programs and experiences. The museum hosts an annual Seniors Day and offers concession card holders a discount on general admission fees. Visitors who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are able to visit the museum free of charge. Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse collection spans history, science, technology, design, industry, decorative arts, music, transport and space exploration. It is also home to the material heritage and stories of Australian culture, history and lifestyle, providing a comprehensive insight into this rich and diverse country. The Powerhouse places a strong emphasis on learning and creativity in its exhibitions and public programs.

19 https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/archie-plus/

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The Powerhouse incorporates and values understanding and wider acceptance of multiple and diverse identities including the identities of First Nations Australians, as the longest living culture. It promotes the benefit of increased access to publicly held collections and the contemporary value of understanding the development of culture and heritage. The Powerhouse has observed an increase in the profile of places and destinations as a result of the quality and profile of cultural experiences and cultural institutions. There has been an uplift in education outcomes from participation in targeted and experiential education programs and life-long engagement. State Archives and Records Authority (SARA) and Sydney Living Museums (SLM) SARA and SLM contribute to the enhancement of community, social wellbeing and Australia’s national identity in many ways. SARA and SLM share the remit and goal of enabling opportunities for the people NSW of diverse ages, backgrounds, interests, education and skill levels to engage with our past by embracing inclusive storytelling and acknowledging multiple perspectives. Examples include regional outreach and connection through their touring exhibitions, programs and regional partnerships. In 2019/20 alone SARA and SLM toured nine exhibitions and showcased a further nine across their sites. SARA has a network of seven Regional Archives Centres (RAC) based in host institutions in Armidale, Bowral, Broken Hill, Newcastle (two), Wagga Wagga and Wollongong. An RAC is a public office (either a university or a local council) that houses and makes available the archives of its host institution plus other State archives of regional significance. RACs are key to providing greater and more equitable access to the history of NSW. Both SARA and SLM share a commitment to supporting Aboriginal peoples as the rightful interpreters of their history. SLM has an ongoing partnership with Muru Mittigar, an Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre based at Rouse Hill Estate. This partnership delivers cultural education, public events, and programming. In 2006, SARA launched the highly impactful exhibition In Living Memory based around photographs from the former New South Wales Aborigines Protection and Welfare Boards (1919-1966). The cultural value of this exhibition was evident as it travelled to 18 venues around NSW over the course of nearly a decade. SLM has a well-established education and learning program which contributes greatly to the enhancement of community and promoting Australia's national identity. One example of the value of this education program includes a recent virtual school excursion that was hosted by the SLM’s Experience and Learning Team at Hyde Park Barracks, which focussed on convict love tokens. The virtual excursion saw 11,395 students in attendance online, with participants from every state and territory in Australia and even a class located in the USA. It was the largest virtual excursion ever hosted by SLM and is an example of the huge opportunities for growth and innovation in the digital space. State Library of NSW and NSW public libraries The State Library of NSW serves close to one million onsite visitors each year and almost four million online. Economic and non-economic benefits are closely related – including through education services and support for the publishing industry, writers, scientists and academic researchers.

The State Library is also integral to the continued development of public library services. It supports internet connectivity including Wi-Fi hotspots in over 320 library sites across NSW. It also provides an e-book platform and online content, books for loan through public libraries in over 40 community languages, professional development for public library staff, advisory services for councils on public library buildings and management, and the administration of the NSW Government’s funding for public libraries.

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Not only do libraries provide an exhaustive range of books and other materials for people to read, listen to and watch in order to increase wellbeing, but host public programs, workshops, seminars, exhibitions and talks. The evidence of the community benefits of libraries could not have been clearer than during the recent bushfire crisis. Public libraries served as a hub where communities could congregate in a safe and sheltered location to gain respite from the conditions and make necessary decisions to face the crisis. Examples include Bateman's Bay Library which was an emergency location, with vital communications access, and Richmond Valley's mobile library, which was stationed at Rappville, to provide residents with Wi-Fi and collection materials. During COVID-19, libraries adapted quickly to provide e-book loans in large numbers, home delivery, and ‘click and collect’ services to ensure local communities did not lose access to high quality information and collections. In 2020-21 the NSW Government is providing a total of $37.5 million as part of an extra $60 million in funding over four years to transform public libraries across the state. This historic funding reaffirms the NSW Government’s commitment to literacy, lifelong learning, connectivity, and community wellbeing through public libraries.

Sydney Opera House Dance Rites, Australia’s hallmark First Nations dance competition, is an annual highlight on the Opera House forecourt (to be delivered online in 2020). This free event is a national platform for the transmission of First Nations cultural knowledge between generations and communities. More than 9,000 visitors attended and more than 300 dancers from across the country performed in 2019. In response to growing demand from locals and tourists for more accessible, free evening activities, in June 2017 the Opera House launched Badu Gili – meaning ‘water light’ in the language of the site’s traditional custodians, the Gadigal people. This year-round experience lights the eastern Bennelong sails every evening to celebrate the rich history and contemporary vibrancy of Australia’s First Nations cultures. Badu Gili has proved popular with locals and tourists, with 500,000 people having attended to date. The Creative Leadership in Learning (CLIL) program is a three-year partnership between the Opera House and individual NSW schools. The Opera House worked with the NSW Department of Education to create tailored programs to increase schools’ creative capacities. CLIL brings the artistic resources and creative processes of the Opera House into the school ecosystem. The program is a combination of professional learning for school principals and teachers, and collaborative creative projects between students and Opera House artists, developed in the classroom or online over a 20-week period. Including a pilot with four schools in 2015, 16 schools have worked with the Opera House to co-construct the program to address their individual context and needs. Between 2017 and 2019, eight schools were enrolled with CLIL, and nearly 500 teachers and more than 2,000 students were engaged in the project. Most of these schools are located in Southwest Sydney, and five are considered to be serving communities experiencing socio-economic disadvantage. All of the participating schools draw students from highly culturally and linguistically diverse communities, with approximately 90% of students coming from a language background other than English.

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In October 2020, the Australia Council for the Arts published a study of the CLIL, in a research partnership with the Sydney Opera House. It provides evidence of “the ways in which creative learning approaches can build confidence, improve academic engagement, positively impact the culture of a school and enhance a sense of community… [and] identifies new areas of professional and creative engagement for artists and their work, while also pointing to new and vital areas of activity for cultural organisations, and the role of creativity in future educational and community contexts.”20

20 Cultivating Creativity: A study of the Sydney Opera House’s Creative Leadership in Learning Program in schools, Australia Council for the Arts, 2020, https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/cultivating-creativity-a- study-of-the-opera-house?mc cid=6040624bc2&mc eid=6106790b51

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3 – The best mechanism for ensuring cooperation and delivery of policy between layers of government

NSW context The Hon Don Harwin, MLC, NSW Minister for the Arts, is also the Special Minister of State and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Public Service and Employee Relations. The NSW Arts portfolio – Create NSW and the State Cultural Institutions – and the Aboriginal Affairs, Heritage and Public Service and Employee Relations portfolios form the Community Engagement Group of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC). The Community Engagement Group is responsible for driving better outcomes across government by ensuring culture and diversity remain front and centre in the NSW community and improve the lives for citizens across NSW. Working within the central agency DPC provides increased opportunities for the NSW Arts portfolio to integrate arts and creativity across broader NSW Government policy and projects and to contribute to whole of government social and economic reforms. Create NSW plays a pivotal role in delivering the Government’s agenda, working across Government to drive outcomes and transform the way arts and culture is received state-wide. Create NSW examples: collaboration, co-design and partnerships Collaboration and co-design can be effective mechanisms to work across government on policy development and service delivery. Examples of these approaches in NSW are summarised below. Engagement with Aboriginal communities Engagement with Aboriginal communities has been evolving and maturing over the past 10 years. The NSW Government applies the principles of local decision making which:  Change the relationship between Aboriginal communities and government and help Aboriginal communities to participate fully in decision making about services  Align with national and international practice which shows that sovereignty and self- determination generate sustained socio-economic development and wellbeing in First Nations communities  Recognise that when Aboriginal people and communities are enabled to make their own decisions, they consistently out-perform external decision-makers such as government agencies. Aboriginal Affairs is working with Create NSW on arts and culture objectives through the OCHRE Strategic Plan. OCHRE reflects local decision-making principles and processes. Co-design in cultural infrastructure Co-design aims to ensure that all stakeholders are involved in the design and implementation of policy rather than using a top down approach. This drives investment and stakeholder engagement in the success of the program and improved outcomes. Place-based planning projects are an effective mechanism for collaboration across infrastructure agencies of NSW Government (also intersecting with the work of local councils and the Australian Government) to consider and align land use and infrastructure planning across NSW. As part of a collaborative process, joint and shared use arrangements for infrastructure as well as interdependencies between projects and land use are considered. Engaging and building partnerships across the NSW Government helps Create NSW to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of cultural infrastructure within other agencies. It allows for opportunities to embed cultural infrastructure in an integrated way –

21 for example, via initiatives in schools, hospitals, public transport, correctional facilities, aged care facilities, open space and juvenile justice centres. The process also allows Create NSW to work with local councils to ensure that the importance of culture as a driver for creating vibrant places is reinforced through updated local planning instruments and strategy development. Create NSW is advocating for the value of arts and culture in creating great places to live, work and visit through participation in several place-based planning projects that are being led by the Greater Sydney Commission. This important cross-government work is based on a new collaborative model for land use and infrastructure planning that allows for a holistic approach, ensuring that the right infrastructure is delivered in the right place at the right time. Through this process, NSW Government agencies (including NSW Health, Transport for NSW, the NSW Department of Education and Infrastructure NSW), service providers, local government and other stakeholders are working collaboratively to ensure that future infrastructure and services are aligned with the anticipated growth in areas of Greater Sydney that are undergoing major transformation. This work includes the Greater Parramatta to Olympic Peninsula (GPOP), one of the fastest growing areas of Greater Sydney, as well as two Place-based Infrastructure Compacts (PICs) in the Western Parkland City which are planning for a new polycentric city to be established on the strength of the new international Western Sydney Airport. Create NSW is also participating in the Greater Sydney Commission’s Collaboration Areas program which brings together local government, NSW and Australian Government agencies as well as key local institutions and organisations, with the aim of addressing complex city- making issues through better co-ordination and collaboration. Other projects underway include a Strategic Infrastructure and Services Assessment for Macquarie Park, which has been identified by the NSW Government as a priority innovation precinct. Create NSW is also participating in cross-government land use and infrastructure planning for areas in regional NSW that have been identified as Special Activation Precincts. The NSW Government is working collaboratively with Snowy Monaro Regional Council and other stakeholders to plan for the future of the Snowy Mountain Special Activation Precinct, with the aim of increasing year-round tourism and ensuring this beautiful alpine location attracts visitors from Australia and the world. Public art Create NSW has advocated to embed public art across a range of projects managed by other agencies including the Greater Sydney Commission, Transport for NSW, Sydney Metro and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE). Create NSW has worked with Sydney Metro to commission artists for the public art works for Sydney Metro City and Southwest rail lines. In 2017 a partnership was established with Transport for NSW to support the delivery of public art in collaboration with Sydney Metro. In 2018 two programs, Sydney Metro City Integrated and Sculptural Public Art and Screen Program were supported by Create NSW. In May 2020, the Sydney Metro Southwest – Public Art Expression of Interest was developed and delivered on behalf of Sydney Metro by Create NSW. Create NSW provided best practice advice on effectively managing a program of this scale while ensuring all governance processes were in place and best practice was delivered.

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Another public art opportunity was the ten existing stations along the T3 Bankstown rail line that are being upgraded for Metro services. Artists were invited to develop artworks in response to architectural glass panels at station entries and concourses. Two of the stations, Canterbury and Punchbowl, were identified as sites for Indigenous Heritage Interpretation and these commissions will be undertaken by Aboriginal artists. Artists fees range from $20,000 to $25,000 – depending on the location of the artwork. From this process, ten artists will be commissioned to install public artwork along the Sydney Metro Southwest line. The Sydney Metro public art program contributes to place activation, reimagines transport hubs and delivers a cultural legacy to enrich the lives of the community. Ongoing partnerships allow Create NSW to achieve our goals of growing, empowering and strengthening the arts, screen and culture sector in NSW, to embed arts in the everyday, while supporting the Premier’s Priorities of greener places and great public spaces. The partnership between Create NSW and Sydney Metro showcases that internationally renowned, dynamic and diverse public art is supported by the Government and available to the communities of NSW. Create NSW has partnered with DPIE to develop a Public Art Framework for the Parramatta Road Urban Amenity Improvement Program. DPIE is delivering the program from Granville in the west to Camperdown in the east. Eight precincts have been identified along the corridor for renewal, in consultation with local councils. The program increases amenity in the public domain and accommodates new development along the corridor. The framework provides an overarching vision for the delivery of public art along the corridor. The framework will be available on the Create NSW and DPIE websites in November 2020. A key feature of the program is to showcase the contribution of public art in major urban regeneration projects. Make Music Day Make Music Day is an international festival of live music in the everyday that takes place around the world on 21 June every year. Create NSW has partnered with Transport for NSW, the Botanic Gardens Trust and the Harbour Trust to activate public spaces with live music made by NSW musicians in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Make Music Day is an action in the NSW Contemporary Music Strategy, which is supported by the 24-hour Economy Strategy. Meeting of Cultural Ministers The Meeting of Cultural Ministers has provided a forum for the Australian, state, territory and New Zealand arts and culture ministers to discuss areas of national and international significance and mutual interest. The 13 November 2020 Meeting of Cultural Ministers was the last formal Meeting of Cultural Ministers. On 23 October the National Cabinet announced a decision to disband a number of formal ministerial forums, including the Meeting of Cultural Ministers.

In its final meeting, the Ministers noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated there is much to be gained from collaboration and the sharing of information and resources among Governments, whilst recognising that in many cases funding responsibilities are shared.

The Ministers resolved to keep meeting in the future to further progress important work, including:  First Nations arts and culture  Culturally and linguistically diverse arts and culture  Arts and disability  Children and young people’s arts and culture  The Digital Culture Strategy  Cultural research and data collections.

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Ministers committed to officials forming a working group to provide practical recommendations on continuing cooperation mechanisms in the interests of advancing the arts sector across Australia.

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4 – The impact of COVID-19 on the creative and cultural industries

NSW context Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Create NSW has been working closely with NSW Treasury and consulting with peak bodies, the NSW Artform Advisory Boards, key sector leaders, and with organisations across the arts, screen, and culture sector, to understand the impacts and identify how best the NSW Government can provide support during this period. Peak bodies and other bodies consulted include the Australia Council for the Arts, Live Performance Australia and Screen Australia – as well as continuing discussions with all State Cultural Institutions, major performing arts organisations, State Significant Organisations and the small to medium arts sector. There is little doubt that the creative and cultural industries have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. There has been extensive research, analysis and reporting of the significance of the challenge for the sector, and how not having a thriving creative industry in turn impacts the wellbeing of the community. Some high-level impacts for the sector include the following:  Cancellation of programs and events has significant financial impacts for arts workers, many of whom are casuals or work on short-term contracts. This has added to significant mental health concerns as individuals have lost their primary employment opportunity  The immediate impacts have long term flow-on effects as individuals and organisations are not able to sustain their business  The impact will be even more significant on high risk arts workers, including those with disability, Aboriginal people and culturally and linguistically diverse people, who require additional support  Substantial loss of revenue from ticket sales and food and beverage sales  The border closures (and different approaches by health rulings on theatres and events across states and territories) have put a stop to regional, national and international touring, affecting the commercial capacity of inbound, outbound and domestic touring  The social distancing requirements and border restriction impacts flowing on into the medium and long term will mean less work commissioned, different work created, contractual disputes and increased demand for government support  The creative industries have interlinking reliance with hospitality and tourism, some of the hardest hit industries. The Australia Bureau of Statistics Labour Force survey found that employment in the Arts and Recreation sector in NSW for the May quarter was 40,300, down from 75,800 in February, a decrease of 47 per cent. The most recent survey (August 2020) found that employment in the sector had recovered somewhat to 64,100, which is still a 15.5 per cent decrease on pre-pandemic levels (compared to 14.5 per cent nationally).21 In addition to the impact on employment, the closure of venues and concerns related to continued infection have impacted on audience sentiment. In recent research undertaken by Patternmakers in partnership with Create NSW, audiences have indicated that their future (physical) attendance at events may be negatively impacted. In September 2020, 21 per cent of NSW audiences said their future attendance will be negatively affected long-term, which is among the highest rate nationally. When they feel

21 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest- release#industry-occupation-and-sector 25 comfortable going out again, most NSW audiences (74 per cent) expect to spend the same amount as they did before on tickets and subscriptions and 11 per cent expect to spend more. However, 15 per cent expect to spend less.23 Impact on NSW cultural infrastructure projects The construction industry is vital to supporting the NSW economy through the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction on the significant cultural infrastructure projects that the NSW Government is delivering has continued throughout the pandemic. Infrastructure NSW, Create NSW and the appointed construction contractors are taking significant precautions to protect the health and safety of the people working on these projects. Supply chain impacts are being monitored and arrangements put in place to mitigate risks in this complex situation. Impact on the State Cultural Institutions The impact of COVID-19 on the State Cultural Institutions has been profound and includes the effects on the broader sector listed above. COVID-19 has reduced visitation from both mandated closures, self-isolation and the cessation of national and international visitor markets. The institutions derive substantial amounts of operating revenue from ticket sales and commercial operations such as retail, venue hire and functions. Reduced visitation has hit this revenue hard. The pandemic has also affected future assumptions about capacities of cultural and creative spaces and how this drives revenues. COVID-19 has also impacted philanthropy and corporate sponsorship. It has impacted exhibition and performance scheduling and the type of programs that can be offered. Face-to-face and in person programming ceased completely during lock down. Planning for exhibitions, performances and programs needs to consider changes to types of exhibitions and the degree of touch/interactivity technology. The Australian Museum has been closed to the public since August 2019 for major renovations and will reopen in late November 2020. An international blockbuster exhibition scheduled for February to September 2021 has been postponed. Impact on the screen sector In April 2020, Screen NSW launched a Screen Impact Survey to learn about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on screen industry workplaces and practitioners. The results provided Screen NSW with valuable information on how the recent global events impacted the industry and its ability to do business. Key findings 25 of the survey were:  91 per cent of freelancers/contractors had projects cancelled or postponed  40 per cent of employees (full time, part time and casual) had reduced pay or hours and of these, 40 per cent were unsure how long it would last for  86 per cent of businesses had projects cancelled or postponed. Only 2.8 per cent of business had no change  one in three employees (full time, part time or casual) lost their job  42 per cent of businesses had to either reduce staff, reduce hours of staff, or ask staff to take a pay cut

23 https://www.create.nsw.gov.au/wp- content/uploads/2020/10/COVID19 AOM Phase 3 Snapshot Report New South Wales.pdf page 7 25 https://www.create.nsw.gov.au/resources/research-and-statistics/screen-nsw-covid19-impact-survey-results/

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 Confirmed business losses of $25.7 million from the period 1 March 2020 to the date of the survey, and estimated losses of over $50 million for the period to 30 September 2020  Confirmed loss of income for employees and freelancers/contractors of $6.7m from the start of March 2020 to the date of the survey; and  Income losses were significantly higher for freelancers/contractors than for employees (full time, part time and casual employees). Employees (full time, part time and casual) were more likely to report projected income loss under $30,000 while freelancers/contractors were more likely to report projected income loss above $40,000. Over the past six months, Screen NSW has been focussed on getting the NSW screen production sector safely back to work. Since the screen industry started getting back to work after COVID-related shutdowns, 20 film and television projects supported with grants and investment from the NSW Government that are currently in production, have employed approximately 8,000 people across the state and these productions are estimated to spend in excess of $300 million over coming months. These projects include the largest film NSW has ever had in production – the Marvel film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which has just finished filming across Sydney, employing over 1,000 people in cast and crew, and with a trainee in every department. Also included are new local television series projects such as:  Eden, filming in the Northern Rivers area with approximately 500 cast and crew  Royal Flying Doctor Service, filming in Broken Hill and the Far West with over 500 cast and crew  Doctor Doctor series 5 filming in the Central West with over 1,000 cast and crew.

NSW Government financial support to the arts, screen and culture sector in response to COVID-19 The NSW Government has announced a number of support packages targeting different parts of the sector. In April 2020, the NSW Government announced a $6.34 million package to provide immediate support to the arts, screen and cultural sector at the outset of the pandemic. This support included:  Over $1 million for rent relief to 38 arts organisations in NSW Government properties managed by Create NSW  Over $1.5 million for screen funding programs, including the Post, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) rebate, production finance, audience development and strategic opportunities  $700,000 for a new Slate Development Fund for NSW screen production companies and producers. In August 2020 this was increased to $1.7 million in total, enabling 18 production companies to deliver 66 projects  Over $2 million for a range of programs, including Creative Koori Project and Annual Organisations and  $650,000 for a new arts funding round to help support small to medium sized arts organisations and independent artists impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. This program comprised four categories: Digital, Creative Koori Digital, Health and Wellbeing and Regenerate Regional Events. Funding was provided to 70 projects for the creation of new work, adaptation for digital and virtual delivery and upskilling.

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In May 2020, the NSW Government announced a $50 million Rescue and Restart package for NSW arts and cultural organisations to ensure the sector remains viable through the COVID-19 pandemic. The package is being delivered in two stages:  Stage 1 – Rescue: allocated now to rescue organisations in financial distress; and  Stage 2 – Restart: to enable organisations to restart operations as public health guidelines allow. The funding is ensuring the survival of some of the most significant not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations across NSW. Stage 1 – Rescue To prevent not-for-profit arts organisations from collapsing while the impact of COVID-19 shutdown is in place. To date, 24 companies have received a total of $13 million from this package. It is expected a further $7 million will be required from Stage 1 over the coming months. Stage 2 – Restart To support the sector to relaunch now that community transmission rates are low. Stage 2 is to provide a stimulatory impact on both the sector and the broader NSW economy. To achieve this, $24 million has been distributed to over 160 multi-year and annually funded organisations. These companies have been identified as being the most likely to be able to deliver on the main aims of the package – namely:  Employment of artists, arts workers and creatives  Development of new work; and  As much support as possible to regional NSW. Payments are based on a proportion of average turnover from 2018 and 2019, capped at $750,000. Companies are expected to spend the funds over the next three to four months. In addition, further packages have been announced to ensure that priority areas receive additional support, including:  Creation of a regional touring indemnity scheme to provide a confidence incentive, particularly for small to medium organisations, to undertake regional NSW touring  $2.5 million for strategic initiatives to support contemporary music, writing and arts practitioners. This package will primarily be delivered through devolved funding to key organisations specialising in each priority area  $1.75 million for a competitive round to meet any funding gaps not addressed by Stage 1 and Stage 2. The guidelines for this package will be announced early in 2021. Also, in May 2020, the NSW Government announced Creative Kids Digital, which is part of the larger Creative Kids program. While Creative Kids initially supported face-to-face activity only, this digital pivot has enabled businesses to continue to redeem vouchers at a time when face-to-face programs have been significantly impacted. Creative Kids Digital supports:  Online creative activities delivered through platforms such as Skype, Zoom, YouTube, Vimeo, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, webinars and digital video hosting platforms  Creative and cultural activities that support the school curriculum for 2020

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 Providers sending materials and equipment to children to complete programs at home. Creative Kids Digital also includes a Digital Toolkit, providing guidance and tips to assist providers to develop online programs. Additionally, the Creative Kids Small Business Grant Program was launched on 6 May 2020 and allowed eligible Creative Kids providers – including music teachers – to apply for funding of up to $5,000 to support their digital transitions. This grant program helped to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 restrictions and ensure that young people have continued access to creative programs and activities. The sector response was extraordinary with 738 eligible applications received, of which 266 applications were successful. A total of $1.19 million was awarded representing a success rate of 36 per cent. Since April 2020, the number of digital Creative Kids providers has increased significantly from 58 to 632 state-wide and more than $8.5 million in Creative Kids vouchers have been directed to Creative Kids providers for online activities since May 2020. Great Southern Nights is a live music event that will bring 1,000 COVID-safe gigs to Greater Sydney and regional NSW in November (Australian Music Month). Delivered in partnership with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), Great Southern Nights is a NSW Government initiative designed to support the recovery of the live music, entertainment and hospitality industries. The event will feature established, emerging and local Australian artists, with approximately 20 headline acts, a further 80 feature artists and up to 900 local musicians and bands. With the NSW Government’s 24-hour Economy Strategy set to reinvigorate Sydney's nightlife, Great Southern Nights is a boost for our state’s live music industry, including venues, musicians, crew and other support workers, that has been hit hard in recent times. It will stimulate the visitor economy, targeting both intrastate and interstate markets. It provides a means of re-invigorating regional areas and their communities that have been severely impacted by the drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. Flow-on benefits will support the hospitality, accommodation and transport sectors and other local businesses in addition to the local live music sector. Changes in State Cultural Institutions’ service delivery COVID-19 has caused the State Cultural Institutions to review the way they provide services to the public. Examples include: Art Gallery of NSW Less than two weeks after the Gallery closed due to COVID-19, it launched Together In Art, a digital project opening the Gallery to the world and affirming the power of art to connect people in difficult times. Together In Art presented daily meaningful experiences with art, including new artistic commissions, pocket exhibitions, artist projects, performances, talks, interviews, virtual visits to artists’ studios, behind-the-scenes tours, inspiring artmaking workshops, and activities for children and adults. One of the Gallery’s key goals in Together In Art was to generate paid work opportunities for Australian artists whose employment was affected by the pandemic. Working with more than 50 artists and performers, as well as educators and its community and regional partners, the Gallery has commissioned new art works, performances, virtual workshops and studio tours. The Art Gallery of NSW’s Together In Art project has received global engagement and acclaim, including in the New York Times, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Mumbrella Awards for Content Marketing Strategy of the Year.

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The Gallery also worked with the NSW Department of Education to develop new online delivery methods for art education in schools across the state. The Gallery has also reinvented its public programming and education activities to continue to present access programs that support Government objectives and target areas including mental health, ageing, young people from regional and remote NSW, young people in the juvenile justice system and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Previously these programs were largely delivered in person and on site, but have been shifted to new online platforms. On 16 September 2020 the Gallery launched Art After Hours Online. This free weekly talk series is a new spin on the renowned after-hours art program, which was one of the first late- night art programs in the world. Art After Hours Online is live streamed from the Gallery to Facebook and YouTube at 7.30pm on Wednesdays. The talks feature artists, thinkers and celebrities as they explore themes and artworks from the exhibitions currently on display in the Gallery. The program celebrated its 17th anniversary in August and remains globally influential. Since the Gallery reopened in June in accordance with NSW Health guidelines, exhibitions have included the reopening of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney and the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Observatory and Museums Discovery Centre are all now open, with free ticketed entry to manage the flow of visitors to help manage capacity and social distancing requirements. Current exhibitions include bookable tours of the Heritage Core until end of 2020 and Linear, an exhibition which explores the significance of line and lineage within First Nations narratives and practices. Linear has also been extended until the end of 2020. State Library of NSW and NSW public libraries COVID-19 has reduced the number of physical visitors to libraries, though there has been a large increase in the number of online visitors. When the pandemic closed libraries in late March this year, NSW libraries quickly transitioned to an online environment, adapting traditional face-to-face programs and activities to ensure their audiences continued to be served effectively. Paradoxically, the pandemic has brought many new people into contact with their libraries. Libraries have expanded their e-book, exhibition and teaching offerings led by the State Library of NSW. The State Library’s Indyreads e-book platform has been rolled out to local libraries across the state, with a focus on Australian content published by Australian companies. Major awards ceremonies administered by the State Library of NSW – such as the Premier’s Literary Awards and the Premier’s History Awards – were conducted online and experienced high levels of attendance. Sydney Opera House In response to COVID-19, in March 2020 the Opera House launched From Our House to Yours (FOHTY), a digital initiative to connect with, inspire, educate and entertain local and global communities while the venue’s doors were temporarily closed to the public. FOHTY was enthusiastically embraced by audiences, and the program was expanded with the launch of a new ‘digital stage’. Each week, local artist performances were livestreamed to people around the world, meeting audience demand for real-time experiences. In just six months, FOHTY achieved more than 4.5 million views and downloads worldwide. Widespread audience and critical success led to FOHTY winning three Time Out ‘Time in’ awards.

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Audience feedback demonstrates the community’s demand for new innovative engagement with arts and culture: “It is just a wonderful opportunity to be able to enjoy these diverse concerts and events ... I would be happy to buy tix to these digital performances because I can’t come and see them in person – we live on a farm in Vic south west.” “This was the first time I’ve ever watched a livestream…the emotion was palpable in the thread of comments connecting people from all over the world.” “Just love the live concerts, I connect my laptop to the TV, turn up the sound and dance like no one is watching - which no one is, due to isolation. As I am 72 years old, it has been uplifting for me, thank you!” “I have LOVED everything but I was extremely moved by the AUSLAN- interpreted performance of The Messiah. I would never have had a chance to experience this if it was not for the digital program.” “I loved The Forgotten Women of Astronomy. It's a field I'm fascinated in and it came at the perfect time … it gave me the push I needed to apply to university! I'd been thinking about it for a while but after watching this, I was inspired to do it.” Reopening venues Research26 into audience attitudes has shown that 49% of previous audiences are making plans to attend arts and cultural events again. Between July and September this increased from 39%. In September, one in three (33%) had returned to a cultural event, up from one in four (25%) in July this year. Most audiences are still favouring both outdoor events and digital streaming. NSW audiences see their attendance being shaped in the long term with an increasing number of people reporting their attendance will be negatively affected in the long term (21% in September, up from 14% in May). NSW museums, galleries and libraries have been able to reopen from 1 June 2020, while theatres, concert halls and other live performance venues have been able to reopen from 1 July 2020. All must operate in line with COVID-Safe Plans and physical distancing. Create NSW is providing dedicated support to the arts and cultural sector to navigate pathways for reopening. This includes facilitating the sector’s engagement across government, including with NSW Health, and providing webinars, advice and guidelines to the sector on managing the impact of COVID-19. Create NSW is working closely with peak bodies and NSW Health to develop and publish COVID-19 safety plans. Guidelines, templates and advice for galleries and museums, libraries, dance studios, choirs and wind and woodwind instrument players are published on the Create NSW website. Create NSW has been working with NSW Health and the arts and cultural sector on the Public Health Orders, which determine conditions for venues such as theatres, cinemas, music halls, concert halls and dance halls to reopen. Since 1 October 2020, such facilities have been able to open to 50 per cent seated capacity, to a maximum of 1,000 patrons.

26 COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor NSW Phase Three Results

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5 – Avenues for increasing access and opportunities for Australia's creative and cultural industries through innovation and the digital environment

Digital programming and participation during the pandemic COVID-19 has vividly demonstrated the value that the arts, screen and culture sector add to our community’s sense of belonging. Digital programming has proven to be an innovative and quickly expanding platform to support communities. Cultural organisations in NSW have been incredibly responsive in pivoting to digital and online activities while they have been unable to present performances to audiences in-venue as a result of COVID-19. NSW audiences have embraced online and digital participation in the absence of in-person attendance. Research shows that 71 per cent of audiences are engaged in online arts and culture activities, while 48 per cent have watched a pre-recorded performance online and 38 per cent have watched a live streaming performance. It is noted that the engagement is down on numbers from earlier this year, which reflects that venues are now opening up. While there is a desire for audiences to return to in-venue entertainment, the opportunities for online and digital access to performances will remain important to increase access to high quality arts and cultural activities. The research suggests that certain parts of the community would increase their engagement with arts and cultural activities if online options remain available. For example, the intention to continue participating online is higher among some groups, such as people with disability (71 per cent), those who are caregivers to older adults (66 per cent) and parents of children aged under six (68 per cent). Others have noted that after the pandemic, they would like a choice of attending in-person or watching a livestream (36 per cent). People with disability are also more likely to want this option available (45 per cent), confirming the role for digital in expanding access to the arts.27 This presents an opportunity for organisations to broaden audience participation and reach through the provision of online access to their programs where appropriate. Further investment into developing digital content, upgrading infrastructure to be able to service the evolving nature of digital programming (e.g. recording and broadcast studios), and exploring business models that enable both access and financial return are vital for setting up cultural institutions and organisations for the future of creative participation. Create NSW is working on a variety of strategic opportunities to keep abreast of trends and technology to position NSW’s cultural infrastructure and organisations for the future. Other digitisation initiatives and opportunities NSW is home to vast cultural, social and scientific and historical collections. However, much of it remains difficult to access online. The NSW Government is committed to making our collections more accessible via digital technology. The Regional Cultural Fund set aside $5 million for 11 local collections digitisation projects as well as development of a state-wide digitisation strategy. The 11 projects are all underway or complete. Create NSW is also working with Museums and Galleries NSW to determine a strategy which will best utilise the funding available in order to facilitate digitisation of collections throughout NSW and highlight significant objects held across the state.

27 https://www.create.nsw.gov.au/wp- content/uploads/2020/06/Accessible AOM Snapshot Report New South Wales-May-2020.docx page 10 32

The objective of the strategy will be to maximise the reach of funds by embedding digitisation resources and expertise in regional museums and galleries and to enhance or create partnership networks, in order to enable the sector to continue digitising collections into the future. In the development of this strategy the following work has already been completed:  Development by Museums and Galleries NSW of advice on best practice methods for digitisation with the publication of Crystal Clear: standards and guidance for digitising regional collections. This is a resource for all museums to draw upon with a step by step guide that addresses the challenges and methods of digitising collections held in museums, galleries and Aboriginal keeping places  Consultation with museums and galleries across the state in relation to the most effective best practice method to achieve digitisation of regional collections  Development of the Collections and Stories prototype website – a story telling led method of promoting and making accessible to the public significant digitised objects held in collections across the state. The Powerhouse Museum has identified further areas of consideration:  The integration of SMART building technology to create efficient exhibition spaces to reduce operating costs and extend operating hours outside the traditional hours of 10:00-17:00  Investment in technology to deliver virtual access to exhibitions and other programming to local, regional, national and international audiences  Investment in technology to translate languages in real time to increase access for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences  Investment in technology to increase accessibility infrastructure and digital platforms that increase access for people with diverse accessibility requirements. The screen industry is at the centre of the digital environment in terms of both production and distribution of content. The arrival of streaming services is creating unprecedented growth in consumer demand for screen content, building on continued expansion by the established Hollywood studios and major broadcasters. The rapid development and take up of virtual production techniques is expected to transform the industry. Partnerships with companies such as Epic Games to develop work in Unreal Engine, an open 3D creation tool, support practitioners to develop skills that can work across genres and across industries including film and television, training and simulation, manufacturing, architecture, medical technology and ‘serious games’ in fields such as education, e-safety, disability and creative ageing. Frequency is a new $240,000 podcast development program from Create NSW and Screen NSW in partnership with Audible, the world’s largest producer and provider of original spoken word entertainment and audiobooks. It will support the development of up to eight new Australian stories from NSW storytellers across various genres. Recipients will be supported with up to $30,000 each to develop their original unpublished works of fiction or non-fiction and the opportunity for their projects to be considered for Audible's original content program. Frequency provides a platform for established and emerging writers to develop their ideas into a podcast and is a potential springboard to a global audience. Examples from the State Cultural Institutions Examples of online engagement from the State Cultural Institutions include: Art Gallery of NSW As noted in Response 4 above, the Together In Art and Together In Art Kids digital projects initiated during the COVID-19 shutdown attracted significant attention and engagement with audiences across NSW and internationally, providing daily inspirational and diverse

33 encounters with art and artists. Based on this success, the Gallery is continuing to evolve this project following its reopening to the public. The Gallery provides extensive digital access to its collection and engagement programs, producing materials such as an innovative resource package that accompanies the Gallery’s flagship regional engagement program Home: Aboriginal art from New South Wales, which was developed in 2018-19 in partnership with the NSW Department of Education Arts Unit and comprises curriculum-linked Art Sets for teachers, artist profiles, images of artworks and video resources including artist interviews. State Library of NSW The State Library of NSW has invested heavily in digital infrastructure and continued investment in this area will allow it to serve an ever-wider population. Investment in digital infrastructure is one of the most important contributions that Government can make to the success of the Library. Since 2012, the State Library has had a 10-year Digital Excellence Program in place to increase access to some of the most iconic and historically significant materials in NSW and Australia. It involves a complete renewal of the Library’s underlying infrastructure and systems. The digitisation component of the program has resulted in the creation of over 12.5 million digital objects during its first seven years. Recently, a new catalogue interface was developed to enable readers to search and browse the Library's collections more easily and efficiently. This has had a dramatic effect on the Library’s relevance for non-specialist users. The Library has won national and international awards in recent years for creative innovation. In September 2020, the Library won an international award for digital innovation in the exhibition space and another innovative digital project created this year – The Diary Files – invited members of the public to submit reflections of their experience of the COVID- 19 pandemic. Over 1,000 entries have been submitted and have been permanently deposited in the Library’s collection to document the event for future generations. State Archives and Records Authority and Sydney Living Museums In May 2020 SARA and SLM launched a digital exhibition called A Thousand Words. It featured a selection of 75 of the most compelling photographic images from the State Archives Collection and 25 from the SLM collection, encompassing a diverse range of people, places and events in NSW spanning 100 years, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Unlike a conventional museum or archives-based exhibition, in which expert curators from collection institutions interpret material for the public, A Thousand Words adopted a philosophy that everyone can play a role in interpreting history. Following this approach, curators invited the public to interpret the images selected for the exhibition through the lens of their own knowledge, experience and imagination. In order to publish and disseminate exhibition images and source public contributions, SARA launched a social media campaign – #OneWordWednesday and #SayitonSaturday – which ran for nine months from September 2019 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram platforms. Each time an image was posted, people contributed a one word or short response and/or a sentiment emoji through their social media platform of choice. Armed with hundreds of responses per image, exhibition producers generated data visualisations – or word clouds – to see the range and frequency of word-based contributions. This combination of image and words was presented graphically, digitally and in animations throughout both the online and physical exhibitions. At the time of the online exhibition launch in May 2020, over 20,000 public contributions had been made towards the exhibition through #OneWordWednesday and #SayitonSaturday. As of September 2020, the

34 digital exhibition had achieved over 175,309 total page views and a combined total social media engagement of 1,399,653. Sydney Opera House As the world rapidly evolves, digital outreach is increasingly removing geographical, socio- economic and physical barriers to the arts. Digital content has emerged as a significant new platform that enables the Opera House to move beyond the building and precinct to connect the community and engage audiences wherever they are, through innovative forms of artistic and educational presentation. In 2018, Deloitte estimated that the Opera House’s digital engagement has grown over 400 per cent since 2013 and at the time of the report was worth $12.5 million per year, demonstrating the value that the Opera House offers in making cultural content accessible to a broader audience. Innovation Participating in cross-government place-based planning allows for Create NSW to take a strategic and coordinated approach to cultural infrastructure planning. As awareness and partnerships build, particularly through Create NSW’s participation in place-based planning projects, new opportunities will be identified. This may include the development of shared or joint-use facilities that allow, for example, the delivery of cultural infrastructure within another agency’s health or education development. As noted in Response 3 above, Create NSW has also worked with Transport for NSW to integrate the delivery of public art as part of key transport projects. The State Cultural Institutions operate as centres of excellence with resources and forums for scholarship, the exchange of ideas, and innovation. Innovation is central to the NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint. Create NSW is continuing to participate in discussions across the NSW Government on opportunities for innovation in line with the Blueprint’s strategic approach.

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