Australian Cultural and Creative Activity: A Population and Hotspot Analysis Sunshine Coast This report is an output of an Australian Research Council Linkage project (LP160101724) led by Queensland University of Technology in partnership with the University of Newcastle, Arts Queensland, Create NSW, Creative Victoria, Arts South Australia and the WA Department of Culture and the Arts. Strategic summary The Sunshine Coast (unless otherwise specified, Sunshine Coast refers to the region which includes both Sunshine Coast and Noosa council areas) is a classic regional hotspot. In many respects, the Sunshine Coast has assets that make it the “Goldilocks” of Queensland hotspots: “the agility of the region and our collaborative nature is facilitated by the fact that we're not too big, not too small - 330,000 people” (Paddenburg, 2019); “We are in that perfect little bubble of just right of about everything” (Erbacher 2019). The Sunshine Coast has one of the fastest-growing economies in Australia. Its population is booming and its local governments are working together to establish world-class communications, transport and health infrastructure, while maintaining the integrity of the region’s much-lauded environment and lifestyle. As a result, the Sunshine Coast Council is regarded as a pioneer on smart city initiatives, while Noosa Shire Council has built a reputation for prioritising sustainable development. The region’s creative economy is growing at a faster rate that of the rest of the economy—in terms of job growth, earnings, incomes and business registrations. These gains, however, are not spread uniformly. Creative Services (that is, the advertising and marketing, architecture and design, and software and digital content sectors) are flourishing, while Cultural Production (music and performing arts, publishing and visual arts) is variable, with visual and performing arts growing while film, television and radio and publishing have low or no growth. The spirit of entrepreneurialism amongst many creatives in the Sunshine Coast was similar to what we witnessed in other hotspots: a spirit of not necessarily relying on institutions, seeking out alternative income sources, and leveraging networks. How public agencies can better harness that energy and entrepreneurialism could be a focus for ongoing strategy. There does seem to be a lower level of arts and culture funding going into the Sunshine Coast from governments than its population base and cultural and creative energy might suggest. Federal and state arts funding programs are under-delivering to the Sunshine Coast. There is a well-established and highly successful Innovation and Entrepreneurship framework that should stand as a model for other regions. Given the range of cultural and creative enterprise 1 Version 21 October 2019 development occurring often outside this system, there is further opportunity to incorporate such activity into the system. Population growth and major infrastructure development on the Sunshine Coast has driven investment and business growth. Given this, there could be greater focus on leveraging these fundamental growth assets to promote the role of cultural and creative activity in social and economic development. The Sunshine Coast region is home to a full spectrum of cultural and creative activity, ranging from fully-publicly-funded and council-managed galleries and festivals through to fully commercial media companies, architects and a growing cohort of software developers and designers. Between those ends of the spectrum, hybrid models are emerging. Given this range, there may be a need for greater clarity around the rationale for support and the outcomes expected for fully publicly-funded arts and culture. Tourism, of course, is one of the biggest industries in the region and one that contributes centrally to its identity. But there seemed to be an underdeveloped sense of its potential to open opportunities for cultural and creative activity, and vice versa. Cairns and the Gold Coast have shown that Indigenous cultural attractions, for example, are proven tourism assets. The Central West is fully committed to cultural infrastructure as a crucial part of the tourism offer. There is a significant opportunity for the Sunshine Coast’s potential in cultural tourism to be further developed. Given the ever-increasing public, private and philanthropic resources going into health, there is an opportunity for greater strategy and planning based on the well evidenced role that cultural and creative inputs can make into health and wellbeing. Sunshine Coast officials and community leaders are right to extoll the “just-right” (“Goldilocks”) nature of their region in terms of its range of assets. We trust that this report may contribute to further success in strategy and planning for the development of cultural and creative activity. We structure this report around three strategic themes: the interrelationships within the sub sectors of the creative industries; the relationship of cultural and creative activity to the wider economy; and comparative perspectives on hotspots. 2 Version 21 October 2019 Contents Strategic summary .................................................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 4 Background and context ......................................................................................................................... 5 Strategic theme 1 Interrelationships across the sub sectors of the creative industries ...................... 11 Strategic theme 2: The relationship of cultural and creative activity to the wider economy .............. 17 Strategic theme 3: Comparative perspectives on hotspots .................................................................. 25 References ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Appendix A.1 Creative employment by place of work, Noosa and Sunshine Coast, 2016 .................. 29 Appendix A.2 Total earnings by place of work, Noosa and Sunshine Coast, 2016 .............................. 30 Appendix A.3 Total earnings by place of work, Noosa and Sunshine Coast, 2016 .............................. 31 Appendix B Creative industry employment, Noosa and Sunshine Coast, 2016 .................................. 32 Appendix C.1 Creative industry employment by ANZSIC4 category, Queensland hotspots ............... 33 Appendix C.1 Creative industry employment by ANZSCO category, Queensland hotspots ................ 34 3 Version 21 October 2019 Acknowledgements The research team gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the following people and organisations for providing the information and insights that made this report possible: Peter Allen, musician Michael Brennan, Noosa Regional Gallery Calli Burnett, photographer Philippe Ceulen, Creative Enterprise Australia Sam Coward, HOT91.1 and XS Entertainment Claudia Di Blasi, Sunshine Coast Council Michael Doneman, Edgeware Creative Entrepreneurship Anthony Dow, Noosa Shire Council Kate Edmiston, Creative Alliance Adam Erbacher, Film Tree Phil Graham, University of the Sunshine Coast Nicole Jordan, Creative Enterprise Australia Glenda Johnson, Arts Queensland Anne Lawrence, Sunshine Coast Council Santiago Maldonado, Latitude Zero Alison Mooney, Cooroy Butter Factory Arts Centre (at the time of interview) Mark Paddenburg, Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre Cara Robinson, musician Alicia Sharples, Cooroy Butter Factory Arts Centre Phil Smith, Creative Arts Alliance, architect Zohar Spatz, Horizon Festival Coby Sullivan, #SCRIPT Roger Todd, architect Santiago Maldonado, Latitude Zero Simon Van Der Spoel, Seven Network John Waldron, Blue Sky View and Makeway Lab 4 Version 21 October 2019 Background and context Noosa Shire—different by nature (Noosa Shire Council, 2018a). Australia’s most sustainable region - Healthy, Smart, Creative is Sunshine Coast Council’s corporate vision for the region (Sunshine Coast Council, 2018a, p. 12). The Noosa Shire and Sunshine Coast Councils were established as separate local governments on 1 January 2014, following the 2008 amalgamation of the Caloundra, Maroochy and Noosa councils and subsequent campaigning by Noosa residents for independence. Although the economies of the two local government areas are closely intertwined, they have distinct place identities that reflect their heritage, the people who live there and their economic development. The Sunshine Coast is represented in promotional and other material as being family-friendly and lifestyle-oriented locale, with a vibrant beach culture and dynamic music scene—and an increasingly strong and growing economy. Noosa, on the other hand, is a premium tourism destination with strict development controls that prioritises its environmental and built heritage. Both local government areas are well- known for their cultural and music festivals and both have an interest in nurturing their creative industries, in recognition of their role in attracting and retaining the skilled and talented individuals that they anticipate will be important for the future of their respective economies. Population The populations of Noosa and the Sunshine Coast are vastly different in size and in the rates at which they are growing. At more than 300,000, the Sunshine Coast’s population is more than