Community wellbeing and the arts

The arts include…Music FestivalsPainting Digital and multimediaFilm Public artCraft DesignWriting Museums and collectionsTheatre HeritageLibraries Stories Dancing Reading

Key messages1. Queenslanders are involved in the arts

2. Queenslanders value the arts

3. Creative communities are thriving communities

4. The arts grow local economies

5. The arts are a proactive way to explore complex community issues

6. The arts build resilient and flourishing communities

7. The arts help community recovery

Data about the arts• Data is from the Queensland Arts Participation Report (unless

otherwise stated)

• Research partnership between the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Queensland

• Randomised general population survey of 998 Queenslanders aged over 15 years in 2009 and 2010

• The sample included all LGAs and was weighted to be representative of the Queensland community - including remote, rural, provincial and metropolitan communities

• There were no statistically significant differences across regions and types of communities in Queensland

Queenslanders are involved in the arts

Queenslanders are involved in the arts• 92% of Queenslanders went to see an arts event in the

past 12 months

• 41% of Queenslanders participated in making art or getting involved in arts activities in the past 12 months

• In total, that’s 94% of Queenslanders who participated in or attended the arts in the past 12 months

• 17% of Queenslanders volunteered in the arts in the past 12 months

Queenslanders value the arts

Queenslanders value the arts• 77% of Queenslanders like the arts

• 77% of Queenslanders think the arts make for a more rich and meaningful life

• 95% of Queenslanders think people can enjoy both the arts and sport

• 78% of Queenslanders think local government should invest in arts and cultural activities

Creative communities are thriving communities

Creative communities are thriving communities• Creative communities celebrate local talent and provide

opportunities for people to get involved in the arts

• Creative communities have a strong sense of identity connected with their cultural heritage

• People participate to have fun, be inspired and connect with others in their community

• These personal benefits strengthen communities as a whole and provide the foundations to explore complex issues, bounce back from difficult times and prosper economically

Creative communities are thriving communities• Research by the UQ Business School in 2003 showed

that the most innovative and thriving rural towns in Queensland are those that publicly celebrate their artistic dimension and involve the broader community in creative experiences

The arts grow local economies

The arts grow local economies• Queensland’s creative industries are worth

$3.4 billion per year to the State’s economy, and are growing faster than any other state in Australia

• The creative industries sector provides jobs for 74 000 people in Queensland

(Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation)

The arts grow local economies• Creative capital is a significant factor in attracting

and retaining skilled and professional staff in remote locations of Australia (Desert Knowledge CRC and Curtin University of Technology 2007)

• Domestic cultural tourists in Australia spend on average 78% more than non-cultural tourists, and international cultural tourists spend 64% more (ABS 2010)

The arts grow local economies• Open Studio Trails – opening artists’ studios to the

public in the Scenic Rim

• Cairns Indigenous Art Fair – developing a market for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and boosting local tourism

David Groom, artist, Beechmont, Open Studio Trails Project. Photo: Trevor Worden

The arts are a proactive way to explore complex community

issues

The arts are a proactive way to explore complex community issues • 84% of Queenslanders think the arts expose us to

new ideas and get us to question things

• 63% of Queenslanders think that sometimes the arts are the only way of saying something important that needs to be said

The arts are a proactive way to explore complex community issues • April’s Fool – performance exploring drug issues,

produced by Empire Theatre in Toowoomba

• Floating Land – 10-day festival at Lake Cootharaba exploring climate change issues, led by Noosa Regional Gallery

April’s Fool performance. Photo: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba

The arts build resilient and flourishing communities

The arts build resilient and flourishing communities• 75% of Queenslanders said “I feel good when I can

express myself creatively”

• 64% of Queenslanders said “The arts help me deal with stress, anxiety or depression”

• 82% of Queenslanders think the arts help us to understand others whose lives are different from our own

The arts build resilient and flourishing communities• Choir of Unheard Voices – choir in Mackay for

people with mental illness

• Lit Sun Goong Temple collections – preservation of Chinese cultural heritage in Cairns

The Choir of Unheard Voices. Photo by Jennifer Vince

The arts help community recovery

The arts help community recovery• 91% of Queenslanders think the arts are an important

way of helping people to express themselves

• 89% of Queenslanders think the arts are an important way of helping people think and work creatively

• “Sport takes you away for a period of time but art creates a mindset of creativity that can be taken back to everyday situations.” (Bruce Esplin, Emergency Services Commissioner, talking about the Victorian Bushfire Recovery Response)

The arts help community recovery• Cyclone Larry: Tales of Survival From the Children of

Far North Queensland – book documenting children’s experiences

• Childers backpacker fire – memorial to victims and community renewal through public art

The Kanaka Memorial in the foreground and the Palace Memorial building in the background. Photo: Bundaberg Regional Council

Key messages1. Queenslanders are involved in the arts

2. Queenslanders value the arts

3. Creative communities are thriving communities

4. The arts grow local economies

5. The arts are a proactive way to explore complex community issues

6. The arts build resilient and flourishing communities

7. The arts help community recovery

The local picture

[Title]• Blank slides for councils to customise presentation –

e.g. include your own data and case studies; identify opportunities to grow arts and culture in your own community etc.

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