Queensland Arts Council Strategic Plan, 2001-2003
ARTS FACILITATION AND CREATIVE COMMUNITY CULTURE: A STUDY OF QUEENSLAND ARTS COUNCIL by Michael John Richards ADVA, MA. Submitted to the Faculty of Creative Industries at Queensland University of Technology, in support of an application for admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, January 2005. 1 LIST OF KEYWORDS Civil Society Community Arts Community Cultural Development Community Revitalisation Community Engagement Creative Class Creative Industries Cultural Industries Cultural Policy Excellence Elite(s) Knowledge Class Meritocracy Regional Arts 2 ABSTRACT This thesis adopts a Cultural Industries framework to examine how Queensland’s arts council network has, through the provision of arts products and services, contributed to the vitality, health and sustainability of Queensland’s regional communities. It charts the history of the network, its configuration and impact since 1961, with particular focus on the years 2001 - 2004, envisages future trends, and provides an analysis of key issues which may be used to guide future policies and programs. Analysis is guided by a Cultural Industries understanding of the arts embedded in everyday life, and views the arts as a range of activities which, by virtue of their aesthetic and symbolic dimensions, enhance human existence through their impact on both the quality and style of human life. Benefits include enhanced leisure and entertainment options, and educational, social, health, personal growth, and economic outcomes, and other indirect benefits which enrich environment and lifestyle. Queensland Arts Council (QAC) and its network of branches has been a dominant factor in the evolution of Queensland’s cultural environment since the middle of the 20th century. Across the state, branches became the public face of the arts, drove cultural agendas, initiated and managed activities, advised governments, wrote cultural policies, lobbied, raised funds and laboured to realise cultural facilities and infrastructure.
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