The governing body of the Australia Council for the Arts has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the creative arts in the national education curriculum.

At its last meeting in Melbourne, the governing Council resolved to work closely with government to make arts an integral part of Australia’s national education landscape.

Australia Council chief executive officer Kathy Keele said the Council will continue to advocate for the National Curriculum Board to include the creative arts on its next review agenda.

‘There is a growing body of international and Australian research which demonstrates a direct link between an arts-rich education from an early age and an increase in students’ confidence, problem solving skills and general life skills,’ Ms Keele said.

‘By making the creative arts a core component of the education curriculum, students will become more resourceful and better equipped to successfully manage change. In addition, a stronger presence of arts in education will help produce Australia’s creative artists of tomorrow,’ Ms Keele said.

The Australia Council has been actively pursuing a national approach for arts in education for a number of years, and it was instrumental in developing last year’s ‘national education and the arts statement’ by the Cultural Ministers Council and the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

The Australia Council continues to pursue the issues included in the national reviews of visual education and music.

In addition, the Australia Council is managing the Australian Government’s $5.2m ‘artists-in-residence’ program which sets up collaborative partnerships between schools and local arts communities.

The ‘artists in residence – creative education partnerships’ initiative supports a combination of activities – residency programs, sessional staff programs and artist/teacher professional development programs – in schools across Australia over the next four years. This program is being developed in collaboration with the states and territories

‘As part of the Australia Council’s cultural engagement framework, we are committed to unlocking the creative potential of our children and young people, and to make creative arts an integral part of Australia’s life long learning strategy,’ Ms Keele said.

Media contact:

Mikael Kjaerbye
Director, marketing and communication

Tel: 0403 090 022
Em: m.kjaerbye@creative.gov.au