Intro
The Arts Leadership Group (ALG) was formed to provide a long-term strategic direction for the arts and cultural sector in Western Australia (WA).
In May 2015, the ALG released a discussion paper seeking feedback from the community on the future challenges and opportunities of building and sustaining a vibrant art, cultural and creative sector in WA to help inform a strategic direction for government, the sector and the community for the next 15 years.
More than 100 submissions to the discussion paper were received from across the sector. These comments were aligned with the latest trend forecasts and the State Planning Strategy 2050.
The ALG then introduced new themes identified in the initial consultation and a vision presented for the state with 5 year targets of what government, the sector and the community will need to achieve together in order to deliver that vision by 2031. This second paper garnered a further 60 responses with ideas of how the goals may be delivered.
In 2016, the Arts Leadership Group Strategic Directions 2016-2031 was published, incorporating information from the submissions received. This was the first time that a unified vision for arts and culture in WA had been presented.
In 2023, the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) is undertaking a consultation process to update Strategic Directions 2016-2031 and develop a 10 Year Vision for Culture and the Arts in Western Australia (10 Year Vision).
As part of this process, a review assessing achievements against the intended outcomes of Strategic Directions 2016-2031 was undertaken, and is available: Review of Strategic Directions 2016-2031.
WA is rightly proud of the many ways in which our arts, cultural and creative industries sector (the sector) enrich our lives and enhance our shared experience. The sector’s activities directly encourage participation in our community life, improve our economy and add to a sense of place and belonging for people living throughout Western Australia.
In the last decade we have seen how a thriving cultural sector in Western Australia can bolster our aspirations and our international relationships and reputation. The sector ecology in Western Australia has become a richer mix of creative expression encompassing the full extent of the arts and our shared culture but also design, film, heritage and new digital experiences, including games and streamed content across a wide variety of platforms.
Our aim must be to encourage and harness these growing inter-connections, enabling our creative people to work across art forms, cultural disciplines and new distribution channels to excite, engage and educate our citizens and visitors.
As a State, we have a responsibility to nurture a vibrant and sustainable sector that works towards creating one of the great places in the world to live, work and play.
This document presents a shared context and road map for the future that will ensure the continued transformation of our cultural lives through a unified ambition for government, sector, community and private enterprise. We will do this with our many local, national and international partners, identifying new opportunities for creative growth and expression.
This document is a result of what we see as the strengths we need to build on and the challenges we need to address to achieve our ambitions.
The consultation process has confirmed the need for ambition, progressive social values and direction about how we can best achieve our aims by working in close partnership with key stakeholders across the State and articulating a carefully considered set of goals that will maximise the chances of success.
With those ends in mind, we present a vision of the future for the arts, cultural and creative industries in Western Australia.
The Arts Leadership Group was an advisory body and its role was to set a long-term strategic direction for the arts in Western Australia, and set the infrastructure, policy and funding priorities for consideration by successive State Governments.
The Arts Leadership Group included chief executives and directors general from key State Government departments, industry and arts organisations, including the Department Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, Lotterywest, Tourism WA, State Library of WA, WA Museum, Art Gallery of WA, ScreenWest, Perth Theatre Trust, Western Australian Local Government Association, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA, Perth Festival, Chamber of Arts and Culture WA and the Committee for Perth.